Basic Biographical Details | Name: | Frank Fraser Darling | | Designation: | | | Born: | 1903 | | Died: | 1979 | | Bio Notes: | Frank Fraser Darling was born an illegitimate child in a stable loft in Chesterfield in 1903 and left school at fifteen to work on a farm. An early fascination with nature, combined with his ambitious character, eventually led him to undertake a PhD in the Animal Genetics department of the University of Edinburgh in the early 1930s; his research focused on the relationship between man and the natural environment, initially in Scotland, and he was to become an internationally renowned pioneer in the field he termed 'human ecology'. Whilst researching on the Western Isles in the late 1930s, he rebuilt the medieval wall of the church of North Rona. His work in Scotland influenced Tom Johnson who, as Secretary of State for Scotland at the end of the Second World War, undertook to develop the Highlands. He later took a senior lectureship in ecology and conservation in the Zoology Department at Edinburgh University, and from the mid-1950s onwards extended his studies to America and Africa. He was knighted in 1970, and died in 1979. | Private and Business Addresses| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes |  | North Rona, Scotland | Business | Late 1930s * | | | | Edinburgh, Scotland | Business | 1940s or 1950s | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Buildings and Designs| This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | | | Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | | 1938 | North Rona Church | | North Rona | Sutherland/Inverness-shire/Ros | Scotland | Rebuilt medieval south wall |
ReferencesBibliographic References| The following books contain references to this : | | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Boyd, John Morton (ed) | 1992 | Fraser Darling in Africa: A Rhino in the Whistling Thorn | | Edinburgh | | | Who's Who | 1978 | Who's Who | | | | | www.nahste.ac.uk | 2005 | www.nahste.ac.uk (Navigational Aids for the History of Science, Technology & the Environment) | | University of Edinburgh: Website | |
|