# James Arthur Prescott

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Australian scientist (1890–1987)

**James Arthur Prescott** [CBE](/source/CBE) [FRS](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society) (7 October 1890 – 6 February 1987) was an [agricultural scientist](/source/Agricultural_scientist).

## Early life and education

James Arthur Prescott was born on 7 October 1890 at [Bolton, Lancashire](/source/Bolton%2C_Lancashire), England, the first of seven children of Joseph Arthur Prescott and his wife, Mary Alice, née Garsden.[1]

Prescott was educated at the [University of Manchester](/source/University_of_Manchester), achieving [Bachelor of Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) with [First Class Honours](/source/First_Class_Honours) in 1911. The following year he was awarded the first postgraduate scholarship in agricultural science taken at [Rothamsted Experimental Station](/source/Rothamsted_Experimental_Station) at [Harpenden](/source/Harpenden).[2]

## Career

Prescott worked as an agricultural scientist.[1]

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](/source/Nitrogen) in the soil, and alkalinity of Egyptian soils.[3][4]

In 1919 he was awarded a [Master of Science](/source/Master_of_Science) by the [University of Manchester](/source/University_of_Manchester) based on a thesis of his [phosphate](/source/Phosphate) studies while at Rothamsted.

From 1924 until his death Prescott worked in Australia, initially as chair of [agricultural chemistry](/source/Agricultural_chemistry) at the [University of Adelaide](/source/University_of_Adelaide). He published in *CSIR bulletin 52* "The Soils of Australia in Relation to Vegetation and Climate".[5] This paper was the basis of his submission to the University of Adelaide, for which he was awarded the degree of [Doctor of Science](/source/Doctor_of_Science) in 1932.[1]

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"[6] in 1934.[1]

## Other roles

Prescott was chairman of the [CSIR](/source/CSIRO) Oenological Research Committee from 1938 to 1955, and a member of the Council of the [Australian Wine Research Institute](/source/Australian_Wine_Research_Institute) 1955 to 1970.[1]

## Honours

In 1925 Prescott was elected a [Fellow of the Royal Society](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society) (FRS).[7]

In 1954 he became a foundation [fellow of the Australian Academy of Science](/source/List_of_Fellows_of_the_Australian_Academy_of_Science).[1]

Other honours and awards included:

- 1931 H. G. Smith Memorial Award of the [Royal Australian Chemical Institute](/source/Royal_Australian_Chemical_Institute)[1]

- 1938 [Verco Medal](/source/Verco_Medal) of the [Royal Society of South Australia](/source/Royal_Society_of_South_Australia)[1]

- 1947 [Companion of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire)[1]

- 1948 [John Lewis Medal](/source/John_Lewis_Medal) of the [Royal Geographical Society of South Australia](/source/Royal_Geographical_Society_of_South_Australia)[1]

- 1948 Farrer Medal of the [Farrer Memorial Trust](/source/Farrer_Memorial_Trust) of New South Wales[1]

- 1950 Australian Medal of Agricultural Science of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science[1]

- 1954 [Mueller Medal](/source/Mueller_Medal) of the [Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science](/source/Australian_and_New_Zealand_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science)[8]

- 1956 [Honorary degree](/source/Honorary_degree) of Doctor of Agricultural Science, [University of Melbourne](/source/University_of_Melbourne)

The [Australian Society of Soil Science](/source/Australian_Society_of_Soil_Science_Incorporated) established the J.A. Prescott Medal in 1971 to be awarded for outstanding contributions to soil science and climatology.[1]

In 1980 the [Waite Institute](/source/Waite_Institute) and the CSIRO Division of Soils held a two-day symposium in his honour, on his 90th birthday.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-aas_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-aas_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-aas_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-aas_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-aas_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-aas_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-aas_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-aas_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-aas_1-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-aas_1-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-aas_1-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-aas_1-11) [***m***](#cite_ref-aas_1-12) [***n***](#cite_ref-aas_1-13) Young, Victoria; Tenkate, Elissa (8 April 1998). ["James Arthur Prescott 1890-1987"](https://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/aasmemoirs/prescott.htm). *AAS Biographical Memoirs*. Retrieved 29 June 2025. This memoir was originally published in *[Historical Records of Australian Science](/source/Historical_Records_of_Australian_Science)*, vol. 7, no. 3, 1988. Prepared by: Victoria Young. Updated by: Elissa Tenkate. Date modified: 8 April 1998

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Prescott, J. A. (1916). ["The phenomenon of absorption in its relation to soils: A résumé of the subject"](https://zenodo.org/record/1920415). *The Journal of Agricultural Science*. **8**: 111–130. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0021859600002525](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0021859600002525). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [85434865](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:85434865).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Prescott, J. A. (1920). ["A note on the sheraqi soils of Egypt. A study in partial sterilisation"](https://zenodo.org/record/2443111). *The Journal of Agricultural Science*. **10** (2): 177–181. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0021859600006444](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0021859600006444). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [86845108](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:86845108).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Prescott, J. A. (1919). ["Nitrification in Egyptian Soils"](https://zenodo.org/record/1516242). *The Journal of Agricultural Science*. **9** (3): 216–236. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0021859600004809](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0021859600004809). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [86013747](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:86013747).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [5131939](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5131939)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Prescott, J. A.; Poole, H. G. (1934). "The Relationships between Sticky Point, Moisture Equivalent, and Mechanical Analysis in some Australian Soils". *The Journal of Agricultural Science*. **24**: 1–14. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0021859600012405](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0021859600012405). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [84290546](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:84290546).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-frs_7-0)** Stephens, C. G.; Quirk, J. P. (1988). ["James Arthur Prescott. 7 October 1890 – 6 February 1987"](https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbm.1988.0021). *[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society](/source/Biographical_Memoirs_of_Fellows_of_the_Royal_Society)*. **34**: 641–668. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1098/rsbm.1988.0021](https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbm.1988.0021). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [770064](https://www.jstor.org/stable/770064). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [72999039](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:72999039).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [ANZAAS > Mueller Medal Recipients (1904–2005)](https://archive.today/20090925233041/http://anzaas.org.au/mueller.html) archive.is Retrieved 12 February 2025.

v t e Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1951 Fellows Carlyle Smith Beals John Boyd David Catcheside Arthur Herbert Cook Sydney John Folley Herbert Fröhlich Geoffrey Gee Hans Heilbronn Gerhard Herzberg Joseph Hutchinson Raymond Ing David Lack Thaddeus Mann Kurt Mendelssohn Albert Neuberger Leonard Bessemer Pfeil James Arthur Prescott Maurice Pryce William John Pugh John Ashworth Ratcliffe Thomas Alan Stephenson William Homan Thorpe Petrus Johann du Toit Alan Turing Alfred Ubbelohde Statute 12 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Foreign Herbert McLean Evans Karl Lashley Carl Størmer Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat People Trove Australia

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