Owain Richards facts for kids
Owain Westmacott Richards (born December 31, 1901 – died November 10, 1984) was a British scientist who studied insects and how living things interact with their environment. He was a professor at Imperial College, London and helped edit a science magazine called the Journal of Animal Ecology. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very important group for scientists.
Early Life and Education
Owain Richards was born in Croydon, England. His father, Harold Meredith, was a doctor in the town, and his mother, Mary Cecilia, was very interested in plants and nature.
Owain went to St Cross School in Surrey and then to Hereford Cathedral School. Later, he studied at Brasenose College, Oxford. He first studied mathematics but then changed to zoology, which is the study of animals. He became very interested in British insects and started collecting them. His teachers noticed his talent for studying insects.
Career and Discoveries
In 1927, Owain Richards started working as a research assistant in the entomology department at Imperial College. Entomology is the study of insects. He became a more senior researcher in 1937. He later became the head of the zoology department at Imperial College in 1953. He also directed the College Field Station at Silwood Park, a special place for outdoor research.
In 1959, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society, a great honor for scientists. Owain Richards traveled a lot for his research. He went on trips to Guyana with his younger brother, Paul W. Richards, to collect insects. He also visited Brazil and Africa for his studies. He even looked at insect collections in the United States and Australia.
One of his important books, The Social Wasps of the Americas, was published in 1978. He also helped develop ways to count animal populations and understand how many animals survive or die in different stages of their lives.
Personal Life and Legacy
Owain Richards married Maud J. Norris in 1931. She was also an entomologist, meaning she studied insects too!
He helped update an important book called Textbook of Entomology by Augustus Daniel Imms, working with another scientist named Richard Gareth Davies.
Owain Richards retired from his work in 1967. He donated his large collection of insects to a museum. This collection included 69,000 Hymenoptera (like wasps, bees, and ants) and 14,000 Diptera (like flies). His contributions helped us understand insects and their environments much better.
