# William Gilbert Chaloner

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{{Short description|British paleobotanist (1928–2016)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Bill Chaloner
| birth_name        = William Gilbert Chaloner
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| image             = William_Gilbert_Chaloner.png
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| birth_date        = {{Birth date|df=y|1928|11|22}}
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| death_date        = {{Death date and age|df=y|2016|10|13|1928|11|22}}
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| workplaces        = {{Plainlist|
* [Royal Holloway, University of London](/source/Royal_Holloway%2C_University_of_London)
* [University College, London](/source/University_College%2C_London)}}
| patrons           = 
| alma_mater        = 
| thesis_title      = The spores of the Carboniferous lycopods
| thesis_url        = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.493526
| thesis_year       = 1953
| doctoral_advisor  = Tom Harris
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| awards            = [FRS](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society)<br>[Lapworth Medal](/source/Lapworth_Medal) <small>(2005)</small>
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'''William Gilbert Chaloner''' [FRS](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society) (22 November 1928 &ndash; 13 October 2016)  was a British [palaeobotanist](/source/palaeobotanist). He was [Professor](/source/Professor) of [Botany](/source/Botany) in the Earth Sciences Department at [Royal Holloway, University of London](/source/Royal_Holloway%2C_University_of_London), and visiting professor in Earth Sciences at [University College, London](/source/University_College%2C_London).<ref>{{Cite journal | pmid = 11268207| year = 2001| last1 = Beerling| first1 = D. J.| authorlink1 = David Beerling| title = Evolution of leaf-form in land plants linked to atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> decline in the Late Palaeozoic era| journal = Nature| volume = 410| issue = 6826| pages = 352–4| last2 = Osborne| first2 = C. P.| last3 = Chaloner| first3 = W. G.| authorlink3 = William Gilbert Chaloner| doi = 10.1038/35066546| bibcode = 2001Natur.410..352B| s2cid = 4386118| url = https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/59/1/osbornecp2.pdf}}</ref><ref>William Gilbert Chaloner F.R.S.: biography and bibliography. / Scott, Andrew C.; Collinson, Margaret.
Studies in palaeobotany and palynology in honour of Professor W. G. Chaloner. ed. / M.E. Collinson; A.C. Scott. Vol. 49 London : Palaeontological Association, 1993. p. 5-11 (Special papers in palaeontology; 49).</ref><ref>[http://www.palynology.org/history/chalonerb.html Interview with Professor William G. (Bill) Chaloner] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221183357/http://www.palynology.org/history/chalonerb.html |date=2006-02-21 }}</ref>

==Education and early life==
Chaloner was born in Chelsea, the son of Ernest J and Lenore (née Maude) Chaloner and was educated at [Kingston Grammar School](/source/Kingston_Grammar_School). He attended evening classes in Geology at Chelsea Polytechnic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digirep.rhul.ac.uk/items/c6b545db-a804-6baa-6f35-7e6ba1ac6569/1/ |title=William Gilbert Chaloner F.R.S.: biography and bibliography |publisher=Royal Holloway, University of London |accessdate=2010-07-18 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206113541/http://digirep.rhul.ac.uk/items/c6b545db-a804-6baa-6f35-7e6ba1ac6569/1/ |archivedate=February 6, 2010 }}</ref> In 1947 he went to study [Botany](/source/Botany), [Geology](/source/Geology) and [Chemistry](/source/Chemistry) at the [University of Reading](/source/University_of_Reading) and was awarded a first class [Bachelor of Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) degree in 1950 followed by a Ph.D. in 1953 under the supervision of [Tom Harris](/source/Tom_Harris_(botanist)).

==Career==
After a postdoctoral year at the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan), he returned home to serve two years National Service in the army before joining the Department of Botany at University College, University of London in 1956. In 1972 he became Professor of Botany at [Birkbeck College](/source/Birkbeck_College), University of London. In 1979 he was appointed to the Hildred Carlyle Chair of Botany at [Bedford College](/source/Bedford_College_(London)). He has held visiting professorships at [Pennsylvania State University](/source/Pennsylvania_State_University), [University of Nigeria, Nsukka](/source/University_of_Nigeria%2C_Nsukka) and the [University of Massachusetts Amherst](/source/University_of_Massachusetts_Amherst).<ref>[http://errol.oclc.org/laf/n85-148084.html Library of Congress Name Authority File]</ref>

==Awards and honours==
Chaloner was an elected Fellow of the [Royal Society](/source/Royal_Society) in 1976,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crane |first1=Peter R. |last2=Scott |first2=Andrew C. |last3=Beerling |first3=David J. |date=2022 |title=William Gilbert Chaloner. 22 November 1928—13 October 2016 |journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society |volume=73|pages=107–126 |doi=10.1098/rsbm.2022.0022 |s2cid=251257698 |doi-access=free }}</ref> the [Linnean Society](/source/Linnean_Society) and the recipient of several awards, including the [Linnean Medal](/source/Linnean_Medal) and the [Palaeontological Association](/source/Palaeontological_Association)'s [Lapworth Medal](/source/Lapworth_Medal).<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.palass.org/modules.php?name=palaeo&page=120&sec=awards | title = Recipients of the Lapworth Medal for Palaeontology | accessdate = 2010-01-12}}</ref> He was elected as a Trustee for the [Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew](/source/Royal_Botanical_Gardens_at_Kew) in 1983. He was president of the [Linnean Society](/source/Linnean_Society) from 1985 to 1988.

==Personal life==
Chaloner was married to Judith Carroll, an American in 1955, with whom he had three children. Chaloner died on 13 October 2016 at the age of 87.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Riding |first1=James B. |last2=Scott |first2=Andrew C. |last3=Collinson |first3=Margaret E. |title=A biography and obituary of William G. Chaloner FRS (1928–2016) |journal=Palynology |date=2020 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=127–166 |doi=10.1080/01916122.2018.1535458|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020Paly...44..127R }}</ref>

== References ==
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{{Presidents of the Linnean Society of London}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaloner, William Gilbert}}
Category:1928 births
Category:2016 deaths
Category:Academics of the University of London
Category:Alumni of the University of Reading
Category:British palaeontologists
Category:Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Category:Lyell Medal winners
Category:People educated at Kingston Grammar School
Category:Presidents of the Linnean Society of London
Category:British fellows of the Royal Society

{{UK-botanist-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Gilbert Chaloner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gilbert_Chaloner) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gilbert_Chaloner?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.