# William Elgin Swinton > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Elgin_Swinton > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Elgin_Swinton.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Elgin_Swinton > Source revision: 1337710710 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Scottish paleontologist Dr **William Elgin Swinton** [FRSE](/source/FRSE) [FLS](/source/Linnean_Society) (30 September 1900 in [Kirkcaldy](/source/Kirkcaldy) – 12 June 1994 in [Toronto](/source/Toronto)), was a Scottish [paleontologist](/source/Paleontologist). ## Life William Swinton was born in [Kirkcaldy](/source/Kirkcaldy) in [Fife](/source/Fife), the son of William Wilson Swinton, a [clerk](/source/Clerk), and Rachel Cargill; he had one sibling, his younger sister Mary.[1] He received his secondary education in [Dundee](/source/Dundee) and [Glenalmond College](/source/Glenalmond_College). From 1917, he studied Sciences at the [University of Glasgow](/source/University_of_Glasgow), graduating BSc in 1922. In 1920, he partook in an expedition to [Spitsbergen](/source/Spitsbergen). Between 1922 and 1924, he was an assistant at the geology department of the [British Museum (Natural History)](/source/Natural_History_Museum%2C_London) in [London](/source/London). Subsequently, Swinton was appointed as a [curator](/source/Curator) of fossil [amphibians](/source/Amphibians), [reptiles](/source/Reptiles) and [birds](/source/Birds). In 1933, he received his first doctorate ([Ph.D](/source/Ph.D)) from the University of Glasgow. In 1932 he was elected a Fellow of the [Royal Society of Edinburgh](/source/Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh). His proposers were [Douglas Alexander Allan](/source/Douglas_Alexander_Allan), Robert Campbell, [Herbert Harold Read](/source/Herbert_Harold_Read) and [Thomas Matthew Finlay](/source/Thomas_Matthew_Finlay).[2] He enlisted in the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) in 1937, and served during the entire [Second World War](/source/World_War_II) with Navy intelligence, eventually reaching the rank of [Lieutenant commander](/source/Lieutenant_commander). In the late 1950s he joined an expedition to climb [Mount Everest](/source/Mount_Everest), but he failed to reach the summit. He received the Darwin Medal from the [USSR Academy of Sciences](/source/Russian_Academy_of_Sciences) in 1959. Two years later, he emigrated to Canada to take up a post in [Toronto](/source/Toronto). ## Career at the British Museum (Natural History) At the museum, Swinton was responsible for writing a large number of museum guides and books; the latter mainly popularizing works about paleontology. One of his most famous works was *The Dinosaurs* from 1934.[3] These books were translated into many languages, making him influential in determining the public perception of [dinosaurs](/source/Dinosaurs) in the middle of the twentieth century. However, his ideas on dinosaur anatomy, ecology and systematics were already old-fashioned in the 1930s, while his evolutionary concepts were formed during [the eclipse of Darwinism](/source/The_eclipse_of_Darwinism). These problems became worse as the books were being reprinted for decades. ## Career in Canada Swinton left the BMNH in 1961, to accept a post as [professor](/source/Professor) of [zoology](/source/Zoology) at the [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto), [Canada](/source/Canada).[4] He combined this post with the directorship of the department of biology at the [Royal Ontario Museum](/source/Royal_Ontario_Museum), and was soon appointed a [Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Canada). In 1963, he became overall director of the [Royal Ontario Museum](/source/Royal_Ontario_Museum). Under his directorship, the museum gained both in public attendance and scientific prestige.[5] His last appointment, until 1979, was as an extraordinary professor at [Queen's University](/source/Queen's_University_at_Kingston) in [Kingston](/source/Kingston%2C_Ontario). He died in Toronto in 1994, 93 years old. Swinton remained unmarried and had no children. ## Publications - *Monsters of Primeval Days* (1931) - *The Dinosaurs: a short history of a great group of extinct reptiles* (1934)[6] - *A Guide to the Fossil Birds* (1934) - *The Science of Living Things* (1935) - *The Corridor of Life* (1948) - *The Wonderful World of Prehistoric Animals* (1952) - *Fossil Amphibians and Reptiles* (1954; 1958) - *Fossil Birds* (1958; 1965; British Museum (Natural History) Publication)- illustrated by Maurice Wilson - *The Story of Prehistoric Animals* (1961)- illustrated by Maurice Wilson - *Digging for Dinosaurs* (1962) - *Dinosaurs* (1962; 1964; 1967; 1969; 1974; British Museum (Natural History) Publication)- illustrated by [Neave Parker](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Neave_Parker&action=edit&redlink=1) - *Dinosaurs of Canada* (1965) - *Giants: Past and Present* (1966) - *The Dinosaurs* (1970)- illustrated by [Neave Parker](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Neave_Parker&action=edit&redlink=1) ## Literature - [Alan Charig](/source/Alan_Charig) (1994) ["Obituary: Professor William Swinton"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-professor-william-swinton-1425671.html), *The Independent* 28 June 1994. Accessed 15 Nov 2013. - R. Cocks, "William Elgin Swinton, 1900–1994", *Museums Journal*, **94** (Aug 1994), 42. - Chris McGowan & Anita McConnell, ["Swinton, William Elgin (1900–1994)"](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/55771), *Oxford Dictionary of National Biography*, Oxford University Press, 2004. Accessed 15 Nov 2013. - Wolfgang Saxon (1994). ["W. E. Swinton, 93; Dinosaur Authority Wrote Textbooks"](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/17/obituaries/w-e-swinton-93-dinosaur-authority-wrote-textbooks.html), *New York Times* 17 June 1994. Accessed 15 Nov 2013. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Swinton genealogy chart at the Swinton family website, www.swintonfamilysociety.org](http://www.swintonfamilysociety.org/web%20charts%20Jan%202005/Swint%20Ch.05-7/SWINTON_Ch07-1.pdf) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [*Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002*](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074135/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf) (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-902-198-84-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-902-198-84-X). Archived from [the original](https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf) (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Alan Charig (1994) [Obituary: Professor William Swinton](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-professor-william-swinton-1425671.html), *The Independent* 28 June 1994. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** International Palaeontological Union (I.P.U.) (1968). Westermann, G.E.G. (ed.). [*Directory of Palaeontologists of the World (excl. Soviet Union & continental China)*](https://archive.org/stream/ERIC_ED030579#page/n127/mode/2up) (2 ed.). Hamilton, Ontario: McMaster University. p. 112. Retrieved 13 January 2017 – via Internet Archive. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Chris McGowan & Anita McConnell, ["Swinton, William Elgin (1900–1994)"](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/55771), *Oxford Dictionary of National Biography*, Oxford University Press, 2004. Accessed 15 Nov 2013 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [W.E. Swinton, *The Dinosaurs* (1934) at Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/dinosaurs00swin) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States France BnF data Japan Italy 2 Portugal Netherlands Norway Poland Vatican Israel Academics CiNii People DDB Other IdRef Open Library SNAC Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Elgin Swinton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Elgin_Swinton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Elgin_Swinton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.