|
Date: |
|
Description: | Sir John Graham Kerr (1869 - 1957) was the first Regius Professor of Zoology at the University of Glasgow. He planned and brought to fruition the opening of a new building and Department of Zoology in 1923, which now bears his name. Included in this building was a fine museum hall. He oversaw the transfer of the zoology collections of the Hunterian Museum to the new building and sought out new specimens to enhance the collections. He valued the Museum as a key teaching resource and so designed it for undergraduate teaching, a function it performs to this day.
Graham Kerr had studied Medicine in Edinburgh and then Natural Sciences at Christ's College, Cambridge. He joined two expeditions to the Gran Chaco of Paraguay in the late 1800's and specimens he collected on the second expedition are in the Zoology Museum today. He had research interests in evolution and embryology and in particular studied the lungfish, Lepidosiren, on which he published widely. Lungfish are an ancient group that are important in the evolution of the tetrapods (i.e. land-living, air breathing four-legged animals). These collections include adult lungfish, dissections, juveniles, eggs, bones and microscope slide preparations. In addition to the lungfish there are numerous specimens of Spirula (the deepwater cephalopod), other fish, amphibians, birds and mammals.
Graham Kerr added to the collections in a number of ways - he collected material himself; associates of his gifted material; he purchased from the leading supply houses; commissioned taxidermy and exchanged specimens with other institutions. A number of the staff he appointed provided specimens for the collections. They include George Carter (lung and other fish and insects), Hugh Cott (amphibians), Wilfred Agar (fish, reptiles, birds). | Subjects: | Lepidosiren South America John Graham Kerr | Source: | Hunterian Museum | Address: | University of Glasgow,
University Avenue,
G12 8QQ | Creator: | Maggie Reilly | Contributor: | John Graham Kerr | Identifier: | C-0057 |
|
|