David Catcheside Explained

Honorific Suffix:	FRS
Birth Date:	31 May 1907
Birth Place:	Hampshire, England
Death Place:	Harare, Zimbabwe
Fields:	Plant genetics
Workplaces:	King's College London, University of Cambridge, University of Adelaide, University of Birmingham, Australian National University
Education:	Strand School, King's College London
Known For:	Evidence of parasynapsis in Oenothera
Awards:	Fellow of the Royal Society-->

David Guthrie Catcheside FRS (31 May 1907 – 1 June 1994) was a British plant geneticist.

Life

He was educated at Strand School and King's College London (BSc).^[1] He was a Lecturer in Botany at King's College London from 1933 to 1936, and at the University of Cambridge from 1937 to 1950. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1951. He was also a Fellow of King's College London and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.^[1] He was Professor of Genetics at the University of Adelaide from 1952 to 1955, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Birmingham from 1956 to 1964, and Professor of Genetics at the Australian National University from 1964 to 1972.^[2] He attempted to do research in what was then Rhodesia but was deported by the Ian Smith regime for supporting political rights for the indigenous black population. After independence, the new government of Zimbabwe invited him to return to the country and pursue his research in 1980. He moved to Zimbabwe in October of 1980, and began researching plant genetics in the region of Mashonaland.^[3] He lived in Zimbabwe until he passed away of natural causes at his home in Harare in 1994.^[4]

Studies

In 1931, David Catcheside proposed the idea that there is evidence of parasynapsis within Oenothera plants, based on their chromosomal arrangement.^[5]

Recognition

The D.G Catcheside Prize, awarded by the Genetics Society of Australia to the top doctoral student in the field of genetics, was named for him.^[6]

Bibliography

Book: Mosses of South Australia. D. G. Catcheside MA, DSc, FAA, FRS. Handbooks of the Flora and Fauna of South Australia. D. J. Woolman, Government Printer, South Australia. 1980.

Notes and References

1. Web site: David Guthrie Catcheside 1907-1994. Australian Academy of Science. 15 March 2016.
2. ‘CATCHESIDE, David Guthrie’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016
3. The Last Days of White Rhodesia by Denis Cecil Hills Chatto & Windus, 1981
4. Flora Zambesiaca: Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana : [Flora Terrarum Zambesii Aquis Conjunctarum].
5. Catcheside. D. G.. 1931-01-01. Critical Evidence of Parasynapsis in Oenothera. 81678. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character. 109. 761. 165–184. 10.1098/rspb.1931.0075. 1931RSPSB.109..165C. free.
6. Web site: Genetics Society of Australia /Awards. 25 January 2018.