# Derek Ager

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**Derek Victor Ager** (21 April 1923 – 8 February 1993)[1] was a British [geologist](/source/Geologist) and [palaeontologist](/source/Paleontology), student of the [Jurassic](/source/Jurassic) system and a [brachiopodologist](/source/Brachiopod), largely known as the one who reintroduced the idea of [catastrophism](/source/Catastrophism) into scientific circulation.[2]

## Biographic data

Ager grew up in London, and attended the [John Lyon school](/source/John_Lyon_School) in [Harrow on the Hill](/source/Harrow_on_the_Hill). From 1941 to 1946, he served with the [Royal Tank Regiment](/source/Royal_Tank_Regiment). He is reported to have found his first fossil while excavating a trench in [Crag Group](/source/Crag_Group) sediments in [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk). After the end of [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Ager travelled to [India](/source/India), where he stayed for a year, during which time he was an instructor in a regimental school in the foothills of the [Himalaya](/source/Himalayas).[1]

After he returned to England, Ager obtained a BSc in geology from [Chelsea Polytechnic](/source/Chelsea_Polytechnic) in 1951. He then moved to [Imperial College London](/source/Imperial_College_London), where he obtained his PhD in 1954 and a [DSc degree](/source/Doctor_of_Science) in 1968.[1] His doctoral student was [Paul Copper](/source/Paul_Copper).[3] In 1969, Ager was appointed to a chair in geology and the position of head of department at [University College, Swansea](/source/University_College,_Swansea), a position he held until 1985.

## Service and awards

Ager was an active member of both the [Geologists' Association](/source/Geologists'_Association), and of the [South Wales group of the Geologists' association](/source/South_Wales_Geologists'_Association). He was president of the Geologists' Association from 1974 to 1976,[4] and chair of the South Wales group from 1978 to 1980. He was awarded the [Murchison Fund](/source/Murchison_Fund) of the [Geological Society of London](/source/Geological_Society_of_London) in 1960 and the Foulerton Award of the Geologists' Association in 1969.[4][5][6] In 1979, he received the [Lyell Medal](/source/Lyell_Medal) of the Geological Society,[1] followed by an Honorary DSc from the [Sorbonne](/source/Sorbonne_University) in 1981.[5]

In 1993, Ager was to be an honorary president of the First European Palaeontological Congress in [Lyon](/source/Lyon), but did not live to see it; the congress was dedicated to his memory.[7]

## Significance in the history of science

### Scientific achievements

Ager was the author of numerous works on brachiopod [systematics](/source/Systematics)[8][9] and introduced several [taxa](/source/Taxa) within the [order](/source/Order_(biology)) [Rhynchonellida](/source/Rhynchonellida), for example the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) Norellidae Ager, 1959 (originally as a subfamily) and the [genus](/source/Genus) *Austrirhynchia* Ager, 1959.[10] He was the author of the first English-language[2] textbook on [palaeoecology](/source/Paleoecology).[11][12] He also worked on general issues of the [Earth sciences](/source/Earth_science), such as the relationship between [uniformitarianism](/source/Uniformitarianism) and catastrophism,[13] pioneering the rediscovery of the latter after many decades of disregard.[2]

### Selected publications

- *A monograph of the British Liassic Rhynchonellidæ* (1956–1967)[9]
- *Principles of Paleoecology* (1963)[11]
- *The nature of the stratigraphical record* (1973, 1993)[13]
- *Geology of Europe* (1980)[14]

### Reception of his writings

Some of Ager's books reached wide audiences. His 1973 book, *The nature of the stratigraphical record* was described as 'brief, cheerful, iconoclastic and compelling' by a reviewer, writing in [Scientific American](/source/Scientific_American).[15] This book was also eminently quotable, written in eight pithy chapters, each summed up in an [aphorism](/source/Aphorism) that captured the essence of the essay. Of these, perhaps the best known is the quote *Nothing is worldwide, but everything is episodic .... The history of any one part of the earth, like the life of a soldier, consists of long periods of boredom and short periods of terror*.[15][16]

## Legacy

In 1993, a special volume of the journal *[Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology](/source/Palaeogeography,_Palaeoclimatology,_Palaeoecology)*, of which he was editor for 25 years, was dedicated to him.

Four genera of fossil organisms were named in his honour: the Jurassic [thecideide](/source/Thecideida) brachiopod *Agerinella* Pajaud & Patrulius, 1964,[17] the Jurassic [bivalve](/source/Bivalvia) *Agerchlamys* Damborenea, 1993,[18][19] the [Cretaceous](/source/Cretaceous) [gastropod](/source/Gastropoda) *Ageria* Abbass, 1973,[20] and the Jurassic [foraminifer](/source/Foraminifera) *Agerella* Turvey, 2003 (= *Agerina* Farinacci, 1991 non Tjernvik, 1956);[21] as well as a number of [species](/source/Species), among which the [Early Jurassic](/source/Early_Jurassic) brachiopod *Tetrarhynchia ageri* Rousselle & Bisch, 1967[22] (current name *Gibbirhynchia ageri*).[23]

## Notes

1. Pugh, Mary (January 1993). ["Obituary notices: Derek Victor Ager"](https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S001678780880051X). *Proceedings of the Geologists' Association*. **104** (4): 313–315. [doi:10.1016/S0016-7878(08)80051-X](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(08)80051-X)

1. Walley, C.D. & Manceñido, M.O. (January 1993). ["Dedication"](https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/003101829390026F). *Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology*. **100** (1-2): 5–6. [doi:10.1016/0031-0182(93)90026-F](https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(93)90026-F)

1. Caldwell, W. G. E. (2008-02-01). ["Tribute"](http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/e07-911). *Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences*. **45** (2): v–ix. [doi:10.1139/e07-911](https://doi.org/10.1139/e07-911). [ISSN 0008-4077](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0008-4077)

1. Leake, Bernard; Bishop, Arthur; Howarth, Richard (2013). [*The Wyley History of the Geologists' Association in the 50 years 1958 to 2008*](https://geologistsassociation.org.uk/newgawpsite/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GA-History-book.pdf). The Geologists' Association. p. 121. ISBN 978-0900717-71-0.

1. Thomas, Alun (2003). [*Geologists’ Association, South Wales Group. A geological perspective 1960-1992*](http://swga.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Geological_perspective_1960_1992AJT.pdf). p. 8. ISBN 0 7200 0547 7.

1. ["GA Prizes and Medals"](https://geologistsassociation.org.uk/prizes_and_medals/). *Geologists' Association*. Retrieved 5 March 2026.

1. Gayet, Mireille (1995) *Avant-propos*, [In:] Mireille Gayet, Bernard Courtinat (ed.), *First European Palaeontological Congress, Lyon, July 7–9, 1993* [Geobios, Mémoire spécial 18], Lyon. [p. 7]

1. Ager, Derek Victor (1957). ["The true Rhynchonella"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/172877). *Palaeontology*. **1**: 1–15.

1. Ager, D. V. (1967-12-31). ["A Monograph of the British Liassic Rhynchonellidæ"](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25761900.2022.12131706). *Monographs of the Palaeontographical Society*. **121** (519): 137–169. [doi:10.1080/25761900.2022.12131706](https://doi.org/10.1080/25761900.2022.12131706). [ISSN 0269-3445](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0269-3445)

1. Ager, D. V. (1959). ["The Classification of the Mesozoic Rhynchonelloidea"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1300761). *Journal of Paleontology*. **33** (2): 324–332. [ISSN 0022-3360](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0022-3360)

1. Ager, Derek V. (1963). *Principles of Paleoecology: An Introduction to the study of how and where animals and plants lived in the past*. New York–San Francisco–Toronto–London: McGraw-Hill. p. 371. LCCN 62-21239.

1. Roscoe, Ernest J. (1964). ["Review: Principles of Paleoecology by Derek V. Ager"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2422704). *The American Midland Naturalist*. **71**: 251–253.

1. Ager, Derek V. (1973). *The Nature of the Stratigraphical Record*. New York: Halsted (Wiley). p. 114.

1. Ager, D. V. (1980). *The geology of Europe: a regional approach*. New York: Halsted Press. ISBN 978-0-470-26990-9.

1. Morrison, Philip (September 1975). ["Reviewed Work(s): The Nature of the Stratigraphical Record by Derek V. Ager"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/24949901). *Scientific American*. **233**: 194–196.

1. Slatter, Janet (2022). ["Secretary's Report 2021/22"](https://www.emgs.org.uk/uploads/1/4/9/1/149143154/mg20_3_2022_complete.pdf). *Mercian Geologist*. **20**: 210.

1. Pajaud, Daniel & Patrulius, Dan (1964-01-01). ["Sur la presence de trois especes de Thecideidae (Brachiopodes) en Roumanie"](https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/sgf/bsgf/article/S7-VI/4/579/518616/Sur-la-presence-de-trois-especes-de-Thecideidae). *Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France*. **S7-VI** (4): 579–585. [doi:10.2113/gssgfbull.S7-VI.4.579](https://doi.org/10.2113/gssgfbull.S7-VI.4.579). [ISSN 1777-5817](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1777-5817)

1. Damborenea, S. E (1993-01-01). ["Early Jurassic South American pectinaceans and circum-Pacific palaeobiogeography"](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/003101829390036I). *Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology*. **100** (1): 109–123. Brachiopod and Molluscan Biogeography, Palaeoecology and Stratigraphy. [doi:10.1016/0031-0182(93)90036-I](https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(93)90036-I). [ISSN 0031-0182](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0031-0182)

1. ["Agerchlamys"](https://pectinidae.weebly.com/agerchlamys.html). *Pectinidae*. Retrieved 2026-02-26.

1. L, Abbass, H (1973). ["SOME BRITISH CRETACEOUS GASTROPODS BELONGING TO THE FAMILIES PROCERITHIIDAE CERITHIIDAE AND CERITHIOPSIDAE CERITHIACEA"](http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/83419). *Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History)*. **23**. [ISSN 0007-1471](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0007-1471). [Archived](http://web.archive.org/web/20170929024308/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/83419) 2017-09-29 at the Wayback Machine.

1. Turvey, Samuel T. (2003-11-01). ["A replacement name for *Agerina* Farinacci, 1991 (Foraminifera) *non* Tjernvik, 1956"](https://jm.copernicus.org/articles/22/139/2003/). *Journal of Micropalaeontology*. **22** (2): 139–139. [doi:10.1144/jm.22.2.139](https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.22.2.139). [ISSN 2041-4978](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2041-4978)

1. Rousselle, Lucienne & Bisch, Jean Philippe (1967-01-01). ["Deux nouvelles especes de Tetrarhynchiinae (rhynchonelles) dans le Lias moyen du Causse moyen-atlasique (Maroc)"](https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/sgf/bsgf/article/S7-IX/5/777/518376/Deux-nouvelles-especes-de-Tetrarhynchiinae). *Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France*. **S7-IX** (5): 777–783. [doi:10.2113/gssgfbull.S7-IX.5.777](https://doi.org/10.2113/gssgfbull.S7-IX.5.777). [ISSN 1777-5817](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1777-5817)

1. Alméras, Yves; Elmi, Serge; Fauré, Philippe (2007). ["Les brachiopodes liasiques d'Algérie occidentale"](https://www.persee.fr/doc/geoly_0750-6635_2007_mon_163_1). *Travaux et Documents des Laboratoires de Géologie de Lyon*. **163** (1): 3–241.

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