Clinton Coleridge Farr (22 May 1866 – 27 January 1943) was a New Zealand geophysicist, electrical engineer and university professor.

Early life and career

Farr was born the youngest son of (Anglican) Rev. George Henry Farr and Julia Warren Farr on 22 May 1866. George (later titled Canon Farr) was first headmaster of the Collegiate School of St Peter in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Coleridge was educated at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. Farr tutored at Sydney and then Adelaide from 1893 to 1896, when he was appointed lecturer in mathematics and physics at

Lincoln Agricultural College Lincoln University (Māori: ''Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki'') is a public university in New Zealand that was formed in 1990 when Lincoln College, Canterbury was made independent of the University of Canterbury. Founded in 1878, it is the oldest ag ...

near

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand. As Director of the Christchurch Magnetic Observatory (1899–1903), he organised a magnetic survey of New Zealand and was awarded the first science D.Sc. by the University of Adelaide. As lecturer in physics and surveying at Canterbury College, Christchurch Farr was a member of the 1907 Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition. He was created Professor of Physics at Canterbury College in 1911. In 1919 he was elected as one of the inaugural fellows of the New Zealand Institute (the organisation has, since 2007, been known as

Royal Society Te Apārangi The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand) is a not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. These fundings (i.e., Marsden grants and research fe ...

), winning their Hector Medal in 1922 and serving as their president from 1929 to May 1931 (when he was succeeded by Hugh Segar). In 1928 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of London Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

Family and death

In 1903, he married Maud Ellen Haydon; they had one son. He retired in 1936 and died in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 27 January 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farr, Clinton Coleridge 1866 births 1943 deaths Scientists from Adelaide University of Adelaide alumni Alumni of University College London Academic staff of Lincoln University (New Zealand) Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand New Zealand fellows of the Royal Society 20th-century New Zealand scientists 19th-century New Zealand physicists 19th-century New Zealand engineers 20th-century New Zealand engineers Presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand geologists