Kenneth Williamson | |
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Born | 1914 Bury, Greater Manchester |
Died | 14 June 1977 |
Occupation | Ornithologist |
Kenneth Williamson FRSE MBOU (c. 1914 – 14 June 1977) [1] was a British ornithologist who had a strong association with Scotland and with bird migration.
Williamson was born in Bury, Lancashire. After briefly working as a journalist, Williamson started training in biology at the Manx Museum. [2] He served with the British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II from 1941 to 1945. [2] After the war he continued his biological training at the Yorkshire Museum under Reginald Wagstaffe. [3] He was employed as a Museum Assistant for Natural History from 1946 until April 1949 when he left to become the Director of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory. [4] He remained in the role of director until 1957 when he left to be the inaugural Migration Research Officer for the British Trust for Ornithology. [2]
He served as editor of the journal Bird Migration (1958–1963). He served on the British Birds Rarities Committee (1959–1963). [2]
On 2 March 1959 Williamson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were George Waterston, Vero Wynne-Edwards, John Berry and James Ritchie. [1]
He died unexpectedly during the night of 14 June 1977.
He married Esther Louise Rein of Tórshavn in 1944, with whom he had a daughter and a son.
As well as numerous ornithological papers, books authored or co-authored by Williamson include: