{{Short description|Australian scientist (1890–1987)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}} '''James Arthur Prescott''' [[CBE]] [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]] (7 October 1890 – 6 February 1987) was an [[agricultural scientist]].

==Early life and education== James Arthur Prescott was born on 7 October 1890 at [[Bolton, Lancashire]], England, the first of seven children of Joseph Arthur Prescott and his wife, Mary Alice, née Garsden.<ref name=aas/>

Prescott was educated at the [[University of Manchester]], achieving [[Bachelor of Science]] with [[First Class Honours]] in 1911. The following year he was awarded the first postgraduate scholarship in agricultural science taken at [[Rothamsted Experimental Station]] at [[Harpenden]].<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Prescott | first1 = J. A. | author-link = James Arthur Prescott| doi = 10.1017/S0021859600002525 | title = The phenomenon of absorption in its relation to soils: A résumé of the subject | journal = The Journal of Agricultural Science | volume = 8 | pages = 111–130 | year = 1916 | s2cid = 85434865 | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1920415 }}</ref>

==Career== Prescott worked as an agricultural scientist.<ref name=aas>{{cite web |first1 =Victoria |last1 =Young |first2 =Elissa |last2=Tenkate | title=James Arthur Prescott 1890-1987 | website=AAS Biographical Memoirs | date=8 April 1998| url=https://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/aasmemoirs/prescott.htm | access-date=29 June 2025| quote=This memoir was originally published in ''[[Historical Records of Australian Science]]'', vol. 7, no. 3, 1988. Prepared by: Victoria Young. Updated by: Elissa Tenkate. Date modified: 8 April 1998}}</ref>

From 1916 to 1924, Prescott worked for Sultanic Agricultural Society of Egypt. There he produced 13 scientific papers, including four on the study of [[nitrogen]] in the soil, and alkalinity of Egyptian soils.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Prescott | first1 = J. A. | author-link = James Arthur Prescott| title = A note on the sheraqi soils of Egypt. A study in partial sterilisation | doi = 10.1017/S0021859600006444 | journal = The Journal of Agricultural Science | volume = 10 | issue = 2 | pages = 177–181 | year = 1920| s2cid = 86845108 | url = https://zenodo.org/record/2443111 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Prescott | first1 = J. A. | author-link = James Arthur Prescott| title = Nitrification in Egyptian Soils | doi = 10.1017/S0021859600004809 | journal = The Journal of Agricultural Science | volume = 9 | issue = 3 | pages = 216–236 | year = 1919 | s2cid = 86013747 | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1516242 }}</ref>

In 1919 he was awarded a [[Master of Science]] by the [[University of Manchester]] based on a thesis of his [[phosphate]] studies while at Rothamsted.

From 1924 until his death Prescott worked in Australia, initially as chair of [[agricultural chemistry]] at the [[University of Adelaide]]. He published in ''CSIR bulletin 52'' "The Soils of Australia in Relation to Vegetation and Climate".<ref>{{OCLC|5131939}}</ref> This paper was the basis of his submission to the University of Adelaide, for which he was awarded the degree of [[Doctor of Science]] in 1932.<ref name=aas/>

Prescott produced "Atmospheric Saturation Deficit in Australia" in 1931, and with H.G. Poole, "The relationships between Sticky Point, Moisture Equivalent and Mechanical Analysis in some Australian Soils"<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Prescott | first1 = J. A. | author-link = James Arthur Prescott| last2 = Poole | first2 = H. G. | doi = 10.1017/S0021859600012405 | title = The Relationships between Sticky Point, Moisture Equivalent, and Mechanical Analysis in some Australian Soils | journal = The Journal of Agricultural Science | volume = 24 | pages = 1–14 | year = 1934| s2cid = 84290546 }}</ref> in 1934.<ref name=aas/>

==Other roles== Prescott was chairman of the [[CSIRO|CSIR]] Oenological Research Committee from 1938 to 1955, and a member of the Council of the [[Australian Wine Research Institute]] 1955 to 1970.<ref name=aas/>

==Honours== In 1925 Prescott was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] (FRS).<ref name="frs">{{Cite journal | last1 = Stephens | first1 = C. G. | last2 = Quirk | first2 = J. P. | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1988.0021 | doi-access = free| title = James Arthur Prescott. 7 October 1890 – 6 February 1987 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 34 | pages = 641–668 | year = 1988 | jstor = 770064| s2cid = 72999039 }}</ref>

In 1954 he became a foundation [[list of Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science|fellow of the Australian Academy of Science]].<ref name=aas/>

Other honours and awards included: *1931 H. G. Smith Memorial Award of the [[Royal Australian Chemical Institute]]<ref name=aas/> *1938 [[Verco Medal]] of the [[Royal Society of South Australia]]<ref name=aas/> *1947 [[Companion of the Order of the British Empire]]<ref name=aas/> *1948 [[John Lewis Medal]] of the [[Royal Geographical Society of South Australia]]<ref name=aas/> *1948 Farrer Medal of the [[Farrer Memorial Trust]] of New South Wales<ref name=aas/> *1950 Australian Medal of Agricultural Science of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science<ref name=aas/> *1954 [[Mueller Medal]] of the [[Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science]]<ref>[https://archive.today/20090925233041/http://anzaas.org.au/mueller.html ANZAAS > Mueller Medal Recipients (1904–2005)] archive.is Retrieved 12 February 2025.</ref> *1956 [[Honorary degree]] of Doctor of Agricultural Science, [[University of Melbourne]]

The [[Australian Society of Soil Science Incorporated|Australian Society of Soil Science]] established the J.A. Prescott Medal in 1971 to be awarded for outstanding contributions to soil science and climatology.<ref name=aas/>

In 1980 the [[Waite Institute]] and the CSIRO Division of Soils held a two-day symposium in his honour, on his 90th birthday.<ref name=aas/>

==References== {{reflist}} {{FRS 1951}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prescott, James Arthur}} [[Category:1890 births]] [[Category:1987 deaths]] [[Category:Australian agronomists]] [[Category:Australian soil scientists]] [[Category:British soil scientists]] [[Category:Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science]] [[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:People educated at Accrington Grammar School]] [[Category:Academic staff of the University of Adelaide]] [[Category:Farrer Medal recipients]] [[Category:20th-century agronomists]] [[Category:Australian fellows of the Royal Society]]