Some Biogeographers, Evolutionists and Ecologists:
Chrono-Biographical Sketches

Whitley, Gilbert Percy (England-Australia 1903-1975)
ichthyology, history

Gilbert Whitley's contributions to natural history seem to have been just about as many-directioned as humanly possible. As a museum administrator he is credited with building the research collection in the Department of Fishes at the Australian Museum into a major resource; he also performed a variety of executive, editorial, and bibliographic functions for several different professional societies. He published over five hundred writings, and these ran the gamut of length and purpose, from reviews and encyclopedia entries to popular pieces and scores of technical descriptions of new species. More than half of his works concerned fish, but he also wrote a good deal on other natural history subjects, plus many historical and bibliographic ones. He was considered a fine illustrator, and made use of this talent frequently. Last but not least, he traveled a good deal, whether for leisure or to capture specimens in the field, or to attend conferences.

--born in Swathling, Hampshire, on 9 June 1903.
--1921: the Whitley family moves to Sydney, Australia
--1922: joins the staff of the Australian Museum under Allan R. McCulloch
--1923-1924: studies zoology at the University of Sydney
--1926-1964: ichthyologist in charge at the Department of Fishes, Australian Museum
--1936: a founding member of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History
--1942-1946: assists the CSIRO Division of Fisheries in the war effort, investigating edible fish resources
--1947-1971: serves as editor of the publications of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
--1963-1964: president, Linnean Society of New South Wales
--1967: receives the Australian Natural History Medallion
--1968: publishes "A Checklist of the Fishes Recorded from the New Zealand Region" in Australian Zoologist
--1970: receives the Clarke Medal from the Royal Society of New South Wales
--1972: president, Australian Society of Fish Biology
--1973-1975: third term as president of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
--dies at Sydney, Australia, on 18 July 1975.