| Authorised form of name | Bourne; Gilbert Charles (1861 - 1933); zoologist and oarsman |
| Dates | 1861 - 1933 |
| Place of birth | Grafton Manor, Worcestershire, England |
| Date of birth | 05 July 1861 |
| Place of death | Tubney House, Tubney, near Abingdon, Berkshire, England |
| Date of death | 08/03/1933 |
| Occupation | zoologist and oarsman |
| Research field | Zoology |
| Activity | Education:
Eton (1874); DSc (Oxon) (1881)
Career:
Went to New College Oxford as an exhibitioner (1881); spent the summer of his second year in Freiburg im Breisgau, studying under August Weismann; following graduation he visited the atoll of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean; became first director of the Marine Biological Laboratory at Plymouth (1887-1899); represented the University of Oxford on the committee appointed by the War Office (1906); elected to the Linacre chair of zoology and comparative anatomy with a fellowship at Merton College (1906-1921); wounded at Sulva Bay (1915); member of the advisory committee on fisheries of the Development Commission and subsequently chairman (1931); member of the advisory committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on fishery research (1920), subsequently chairman (1930); the last project he was involved in from 1927 until his death was serving as a member of the the water pollution research board, and was chairman of its sub-committee set up to develop a programme for a biological and chemical survey on the River Tees.
Membership:
Member of Governing Body, Winchester College (1924-1933) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 05/05/1910 |
| Age at election | 49 |
| Proposer | Sydney John Hickson; Adam Sedgwick; Arthur Everett Shipley; Sidney Frederic Harmer; John Stanley Gardiner; David Sharp; Frederick William Gamble; Edward Bagnall Poulton; John Sealy Edward Townsend; Edwin Stephen Goodrich; William Johnson Sollas |
| William Abbott Herdman; Arthur Dendy; Walter Heape; Frank Evers Beddard; Henry Woodward |
| Relationships | Parents: Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Bourne, 54th regiment, of Cowarne Court, near Ledbury, and Anna Eliza, youngest daughter of Samuel Baker, of Lypiatt Park, Gloucestershire
Spouse: Constance Margaret Graham (1887), eldest daughter of Sir John Frederick Croft, second baronet, of Doddington Place, Kent
Children: Robert Croft Bourne, and a daughter |
| General context | Studied the structure, development, and classification of corals and related animals, and many of his findings have passed into the textbooks. Although his later researches were mainly morphological, his interests remained wide.
Entered into the preformation–epigenesis controversy and wrote two articles of lasting value in defence of the cell-theory against the attack of Adam Sedgwick (FRS 1886).
Contributed to the Treatise on Zoology (1900–09) by Edwin Ray Lankester (FRS 1875). |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
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| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll
Obituaries:
Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1932-1935 vol l pp 126-130, plate, by Sidney John Hickson |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/22889814 |
| Royal Society code | NA1352 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| EC/1910/02 | Bourne, Gilbert Charles: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| MM/16/114 | Letter from Gilbert C Bourne, Oxford, to WB Hardy | 27 January 1925 |
| IM/GA/Russell/1 | Bourne, Gilbert Charles | nd |
| NLB/4/467 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Gilbert Charles Bourne | 7 June 1890 |
| NLB/4/460 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Gilbert Charles Bourne, the Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth | 6 June 1890 |
| NLB/3/606 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Gilbert Charles Bourne, the Laboratory, Plymouth | 23 July 1889 |
| NLB/3/761 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Gilbert Charles Bourne | 3 October 1889 |
| NLB/10/1053 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Professor Michael Foster, Secretary, Royal Society | 30 March 1895 |
| NLB/11/201 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Gilbert Charles Bourne, Department of Comparative Anatomy, The Museum, Oxford | 13 May 1895 |
| NLB/44/227 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Professor G [Gilbert] C [Charles] Bourne FRS | 27 May 1911 |
| RR/20/122 | Referee's report by Gilbert Charles Bourne, on a paper 'On the experimental hybridization of echinoids' by Cresswell Shearer, Walter De Morgan and H M Fuchs | 12 April 1913 |
| RR/20/95 | Referee's report by Gilbert Charles Bourne, on a paper 'Some notes on soil protozoa' by C H Martin and K R Lewin | 20 July 1914 |
| NLB/59/935 | Copy letter from Edwin Deller, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 2 December 1920 |
| NLB/53/243 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 09 June 1916 |
| NLB/63/101 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society and FRS; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 29 June 1922 |
| NLB/62/602 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 21 March 1922 |
| RR/30/21 | Referee's report by Gilbert Charles Bourne, on a paper 'On the histology and function of certain secondary sexual organs in the cuttle fish Doratosepion confusa' by H M Carleton and G C Robson | [March 1924] |
| NLB/66/503 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to the Secretary, Winchester College | 20 May 1924 |
| NLB/55/739 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 20 August 1918 |
| NLB/62/803 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 10 May 1922 |
| NLB/65/519 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS; Twyning Manor, Tewkesbury | 13 November 1923 |
| NLB/66/482 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Prof. [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 16 May 1924 |
| RR/12/53 | Referee's report by Walter Frank Raphael Weldon, on a paper 'On the structure and affinities of Heliopora coerulea, Pallas. With some observations on the structure of Xenia and Heteroxenia' by Gilbert Charles Bourne | 8 August 1894 |
| NLB/68/328 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 19 June 1925 |
| NLB/67/889 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 28 March 1925 |
| NLB/67/790 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir Sidney [Frederic] Harmer, KBE, FRS | 9 March 1925 |
| NLB/72/646 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to the Secretary of the University of Bristol | 7 February 1930 |
| CD/66/14 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 19 June 1925 |
| CD/66/11 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 9 May 1925 |
| CD/66/12 | Letter from Gilbert [Charles] Bourne; to William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society | 14 May 1925 |
| CD/66/9 | Copy letter from [William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society]; to Dr [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS; Twyning Manor, near Tewkesbury | 15 April 1925 |
| CD/66/10 | Letter from Gilbert [Charles] Bourne; Twyning Manor, near Tewkesbury; to William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society | 25 April 1925 |
| CD/66/7 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 23 March 1925 |
| CD/66/8 | Letter from Gilbert [Charles] Bourne; Twyning Manor, near Tewkesbury; to William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society | 2 April 1925 |
| NLB/68/87 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [Gilbert Charles] Bourne, FRS | 9 May 1925 |
| CD/66/15 | Memorandum on the publication and dissemination of scientific news, by Gilbert [Charles] Bourne; Twyning Manor, Tewkesbury | 29 May 1925 |
| NLB/3/261 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Gilbert Charles Bourne, Marine Biological Laboratory, Plymouth | 25 April 1889 |
| NLB/67/575 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir Sidney [Frederic] Harmer, KBE, FRS | 23 January 1925 |
| RR/25/14 | Referee's report by Gilbert Charles Bourne, on a paper 'The development of the sea-anemones Metridium dianthus (Ellis) and Adamsia palliata (Bohad)' by James Fairlie Gemmill | [June 1918] |
| RR/12/54 | Referee's report by Adam Sedgwick, on a paper 'On the structure and affinities of Heliopora coerulea, Pallas. With some observations on the structure of Xenia and Heteroxenia' by Gilbert Charles Bourne | 2 September 1894 |
| RR/28/54 | Referee's report by Gilbert Charles Bourne, on a paper 'The evolution of the shell-sculpture in fresh-water snails of the family Viviparidae' by [Nelson] Annandale | 13 November 1923 |
| PP/11/32/1 | Manuscript, 'The atoll of Diego Garcia and the coral formations of the Indian Ocean' by Gilbert Charles Bourne | 1888 |
| PP/11/32 | Paper, 'The atoll of Diego Garcia and the coral formations of the Indian Ocean' by Gilbert Charles Bourne | 1888 |
| PP/11/32/2 | Map, 'Map of Diego Garcia, scale 1/2 inch to the sea mile' by Gilbert Charles Bourne | 1888 |
| RR/12/110 | Referee's report by Walter Frank Raphael Weldon, on two papers 'On the evolution of the vertebral column of fishes' by Hans Friedrich Gadow and E C Abbott, and 'On the structure and affinities of Heliopora coerulea, Pallas. With some observations on the structure of Xenia and Heteroxenia' by Gilbert Charles Bourne | 8 August 1894 |
| RR/12/55 | Referee's report by Robert Etheridge, on a paper 'On the structure and affinities of Heliopora coerulea, Pallas. With some observations on the structure of Xenia and Heteroxenia' by Gilbert Charles Bourne | 12 October 1894 |
| RR/12/56 | Second referee's report by Robert Etheridge, on a paper 'On the structure and affinities of Heliopora coerulea, Pallas. With some observations on the structure of Xenia and Heteroxenia' by Gilbert Charles Bourne | 17 November 1894 |
| RR/12/57 | Letter from Robert Etheridge, to Herbert Rix, regarding a paper 'On the structure and affinities of Heliopora coerulea, Pallas. With some observations on the structure of Xenia and Heteroxenia' by Gilbert Charles Bourne | 19 November 1894 |
| MC/25/27 | Letter from Gilbert [Charles] Bourne, Savile House, Oxford, to The Seretaries of The Royal Society | 6 May 1910 |