| Authorised form of name | Fortey; Richard Alan; palaeontologist |
| Dates | 1946 - 2025 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Ealing, West London, England, United Kingdom |
| Date of birth | 15/02/1946 |
| Place of death | England, United Kingdom |
| Date of death | 07/03/2025 |
| Occupation | Palaeontologist |
| Research field | Earth sciences |
| Science communication |
| Evolution |
| Geology |
| Natural history |
| Mycology |
| Invertebrate palaeontology |
| Palaeontology |
| Activity | Education:
Ealing Grammar School for Boys; King's College, Cambridge (BA 1968; MA 1970; Ph.D 1971)
Career:
Research fellow, Natural History Museum, London, England (1970-73); senior science officer (1973-77); principal science officer (1978-86); senior principal science officer (1988-91); merit researcher and senior paleontologist (1991-2006); Visiting professor, University of Oxford (2000); Collier professor in the public understanding of science and technology, University of Bristol (2002); retired from the Natural History Museum (2006); died of cancer.
Memberships:
FGS (President 2007)
Palaeontographical Society (President 2007-08)
Palaeontological Association
British Mycological Society
Awards/Medals:
Frink Medal 2000
Linnean Medal 2006
Lyell Medal
Honours:
OBE 2023 for services to palaeontology and geology |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 15/05/1997 |
| Age at election | 51 |
| RSActivity | Committees:
Biological Sciences Awards Committee 2007-2009
Summer Science Exhibition Committee 2003-2005
Sectional Committee 5: Earth & environmental sciences 1998-2001
Council: 2001-2003
Medals and prizes:
Michael Faraday Award 2006 |
| Relationships | Parents: Frank (a fisher) and Margaret (nee Wilshin).
Spouse: 1) (m. 3 October 1969, divorced 1974) Bridget Thomas; 2) (m. 21 June 1971) Jacqueline Francis, editor
Children: (first marriage) Dominic; (second marriage) Leo, Rebecca, Julia |
| PublishedWorks | RCN R83644
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| OtherInfo | Studied the evolution of arthropods and had a particular interest in the long-extinct marine arthropods, trilobites - one of the earliest groups of arthropods in existence. Richard was also a well-known natural history television presenter and popular science author.
Arthropods are invertebrates with an external skeleton, a segmented body and jointed appendages. Diverse and widespread, trilobites were amongst the most successful of all early animals, roaming the oceans for over 270 million years before suffering a mass extinction. Due to their ancient demise, Richard learnt about trilobites from their fossilised remnants and his research significantly furthered our understanding of invertebrate evolution.
A talented science communicator, Richard appeared in many natural history television programmes for the BBC. In 2010, he travelled with David Attenborough to the Atlas Mountains to find trilobite fossils for BBC Two's First Life. In 1993, Richard's book The Hidden Landscape: Journey into the Geological Past was named the Natural World Book of the Year. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Source | References:
Graham E Budd, 'In love with Olenus', review of R A Fortey Trilobite! Eyewitness to evolution in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 117-118
Anne Purkiss 'Scientists 1985 - 2010; Portraits of Fellows of the Royal Society' 2010, p.20
The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Professor Richard Fortey OBE FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/richard-fortey-11450/; last accessed: 30/04/2025]
University of Cambridge, Department of Earth Sciences, Alumni News, Professor Richard Fortey, OBE FRS, 18 March 2025, [URL: https://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/alumni/alumni-news; last accessed: 30/04/2025]
Encyclopedia.com, Arts, Educational Magazines, (Richard A. Fortey, Richard Alan Fortey), [URL: https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/fortey-richard-1946; last accessed: 30/04/2025]
The Guardian, Richard Fortey obituary, Stephen Moss, 13 March 2025, [URL: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/13/richard-fortey-obituary; last accessed: 30/04/2025] |
| Code | NA4178 |