Leonard John Wild (28 October 1889 – 23 July 1970) was a New Zealand teacher, agricultural scientist, lecturer, principal, educationalist, and writer.

Early life

Born at Oraki near Riverton in Southland in 1889, he received his secondary education at

Southland Boys' High School Southland Boys' High School (SBHS) is an all-boys school in Invercargill, New Zealand, and has been the only one in the city since Marist Brothers was merged with St Catherines to form Verdon College in 1982. History SBHS was founded in 1881, ...

. He received his tertiary education from the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1910, a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in 1917 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1921. During the 1910s, he published several papers on geology in the ''Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute'', which resulted in him being elected fellow of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

Career

In 1911, he was appointed as a science teacher at Marlborough High School (now Marlborough Boys' College) when it was still a coeducational school. In 1915, he became chemistry lecturer at Canterbury Agricultural College (now Lincoln University) in

Lincoln, New Zealand Lincoln () is a town in the Selwyn District, in the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island. The town is located on the Canterbury Plains to the west of Banks Peninsula, 22 kilometres southwest of Christ ...

. In 1921, Wild was science lecturer at Christchurch Teachers' College. In the following year, he moved to the Feilding Technical High School to become the inaugural headmaster. Wild's management of the school gave it both a national and international reputation, and

Peter Fraser Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand Lab ...

minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

gave funding for the school to become Feilding Agricultural High School. Wild retired at the end of 1946. Wild was a member of the Senate of the

University of New Zealand A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

from 1930 until its dissolution in 1961. From 1949 to its dissolution, he was pro–chancellor for the institution.

Honours and awards

In the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginn ...

, Wild was appointed Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. In the

1952 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1952 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

, he was promoted to be a Commander of the same order. In 1953, he was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

. The University of New Zealand made Wild an honorary

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

in 1957.

Family and death

Wild married Doris Churton (1890–1982) in December 1911 at

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

's All Saints Anglican. They had four children. Their son Richard Wild was

Chief Justice of New Zealand The chief justice of New Zealand () is the head of the New Zealand judiciary, and presides over the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The chief justice of New Zealand is also the chief justice of Tokelau. Before the establishment of the Supreme C ...

from 1966 to 1978. Their only daughter, Dora, married the jurist John White. On 23 July 1970, Wild died in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. He was survived by his wife and four children. He was cremated in Wellington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wild, Leonard 1889 births 1970 deaths Heads of schools in New Zealand New Zealand earth scientists New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire University of Otago alumni People educated at Southland Boys' High School

Early life

Career

Honours and awards

Family and death

See also

References