Oswald Henry Theodore Rishbeth (né Rischbieth) 1886 – 1946) was an Australian geographer who was Professor and Chair of Geography at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, England. He is considered a pioneer of academic geography in Britain.Edwards, K.C.,
The Broadening Vista
, ''Geography'', Vol. 52, No. 3 (July 1967), pp. 245–259 (15 pages).Darby, H.C.,
Academic Geography in Britain: 1918–1946
, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 8, No. 1, The Institute of British Geographers 1933–1983: A Special Issue of Transactions to Mark the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Institute (1983), pp. 14–26.Keltie, Sir John Scott, "The Position of Geography in British Universities", Oxford University Press, 1921. He was the husband of zoologist Kathleen Rishbeth.

Early life and education

Oswald Rishbeth was born Oswald Rischbieth in Mount Gambier, the son of a merchant from

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

.Wood, R.K.S.,
John Rishbeth. 10 July 1918 – 1 June 1991
, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, Vol. 41 (Nov., 1995), pp. 360–376 (17 pages) His father was Heinrich Carl Rischbieth (1840–1921). Oswald had five brothers and two sisters. In Mount Gambier, Rishbeth was taught classics by Hartley Williams. He continued his education at Kyre College in Adelaide (now Scotch College).Read, Peter, and Alex Pouw-Bray, "Ninety Years at Torrens Park: the Scotch College Story", Wakefield Press, 2010. In 1905, he won an essay contest in the Mount Gambier Caledonian Society Competition. After Kyre College, Rishbeth studied Classics 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 ...

, obtaining a first-class honors BA in Classics in November 1909. While in Adelaide, Rishbeth taught at

Adelaide High School Adelaide High School, originally named the Continuation School, is a state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Park Lands. Following the Advanced School for Girls, it was the second government ...

during 1910. He obtained a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where he studied classics and geography at

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

. At Oxford, he was "made an honorary Post-Master (i.e., scholar) of his college," a position that "ranks as one of some prominence in the college and college life of Oxford", and was elected to th
Jowett Society
a philosophical discussion forum.PERSONAL
, ''The Advertiser'', Tue 10 Feb 1914. At Oxford he may have attended lectures by archeologist

John Myres Sir John Linton Myres (3 July 1869 – 6 March 1954) was a British archaeologist and academic, who conducted excavations in Cyprus during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Having been a fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford and then Ch ...

, then the Wykeham Professor of Ancient History.Wagstaff, Malcolm, "The Contribution of Early Travel Narratives to the Historical Geography of Greece - A Lecture", The University of Oxford, 2004. He had intended to continue studying for a PhD in Germany, but could not as a result of

World War 1 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Military service

During World War 1, Rishbeth served as an intelligence officer in Diplomatic Corps of the British Army, anglicizing his name to Rishbeth.Craig Campbell,
Adelaide High School: Inventing a state high school
, Dehanz, 6 March 2019.Visiting English Teachers
, ''Border Watch'', Mount Gambier, SA: Tues 12 Sep 1950. He was posted to the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

and was "involved in operations in and around the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; , ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. This island group generally define ...

". Having studied Greek at

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 ...

, during the war he was "a member of the British delegation which went to Athens to endeavor to induce

King Constantine King Constantine may refer to: * Constantine (Briton) (520–523), a king of Dumnonia in sub-Roman Britain * Constantine I of Georgia (d. 1412), King of Georgia from 1405 or 1407 until his death * Constantine II of Georgia (ca. 1447–1505), of the ...

to join with the allies". As a result, in 1918 he was awarded the order of the Knight of the Savior of the Greek Nation, "in recognition of his services there".Mount Gambier and District
''The South Eastern Times'', Millicent, SA, Tue 2 Jul 1918. The war provided Rishbeth's introduction to geography and his move away from classics. Rishbeth had been involved in the Geographical Section of the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty, writing "geographical handbooks on various parts of the world". Variants of these handbooks were also used in

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

Academic career

After the war, despite his background in

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

, Rishbeth was attracted to geography "because of the opportunity it afforded ... to construct a synthesis of the different fields of knowledge concerned with man/environment relationships". He taught geography at University College, Aberstwyth and later the

. At Aberystwyth he taught under Professor

Herbert John Fleure Herbert John Fleure, (6 June 1877 – 1 July 1969) was a British zoologist and geographer. He was secretary of the Geographical Association, editor of ''Geography'', and president of the Cambrian Archaeological Association (1924–25), Roy ...

.Steel, Robert W. (ed.), "British Geography 1918–1945", Cambridge University Press. Some of his early research was inspired by his military service. In 1919, Rishbeth presented research on the

islands, where he had served in the war, to the British Association for the Advancement of Science. In March 1920 he was invited by the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

to respond to a lecture on the Dodecanese by

, together with

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...

, then Prime Minister of Greece. This interest continued; Rishbeth's last paper, albeit unpublished, was on the "corn supply of ancient Greece". Rishbeth joined the faculty at Southampton in 1922 and from 1926 was the first chair of historical geography, serving until 1938. There he was described as:

a tall individual, somewhat aristocratic in manner but kindly and generous to students. He was hardly a good teacher but had an excellent style as a lecturer and performed well with the carefully preepared topics which he handled... edid well in re-establishing his Department as a new force in the quest for geography.

He was known for his compilation of geography textbooks that were used in schools in multiple Australian states. He published research on the geography of Central South England and Central Australia. In 1926, he led a geographic survey of the

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

district, and later contributed a study of land utilization in Southampton. In 1923 he published a new theory on the structure of the earth. In 1933, Rishbeth was a founding member of the

Institute of British Geographers The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He was involved in the joint committee to form an "Association of University Geographers". Rishbeth retired due to ill health in 1938. His correspondence and papers are held at Oxford University's

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

Family

Oswald's uncle was Charles Rischbieth, a leading businessman in the early days of the colony of South Australia. Through his cousin Henry Rischbieth, he was related to influential social reformer

Bessie Rischbieth Bessie Mabel Rischbieth, (née Earle; 16 October 187413 March 1967) was an influential and early Australian feminism, feminist and social activist. A leading or founding member of many social reform groups, such as the Women's Service Guilds ...

. In September 1917, Rishbeth married Kathleen Haddon, an Irish-born anthropologist and zoologist, in Cambridge.Mendillo, M.,
Henry Rishbeth: A remembrance
, 25th CEDAR Meeting, Boulder, CO., June 2010. He had three children,Obituary
''Man'', Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 62 (Jan., 1962), pp. 10–12 (3 pages) including the biologist John Rishbeth, and physicist Henry Rishbeth. His brother, W. A. Rischbieth, served in the

Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...

at the Front in World War 1. One of his nephews was

Charles Rischbieth Jury Charles Rischbieth Jury (13 September 1893 – 22 August 1958), generally known by his initials or full name, was a poet and academic in Adelaide, South Australia, who spent much of his working life in Europe. History Charles was born in Glenel ...

, a poet and academic at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rishbeth, Oswald Australian geographers 1886 births Australian Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Academics of the University of Southampton Academics of Aberystwyth University 1946 deaths People from Mount Gambier, South Australia Australian people of German descent People educated at Scotch College, Adelaide University of Adelaide alumni Australian military personnel of World War I Military personnel from South Australia