| Authorised form of name | Kerr; Sir; John Graham (1869 - 1957); zoologist |
| Dates | 1869 - 1957 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Rowley Lodge, Arkley, Barnet, Hertfordshire, England |
| Date of birth | 18 September 1869 |
| Place of death | Dalny Veed, Barley, near Royston, Hertfordshire, England |
| Date of death | 21/04/1957 |
| Occupation | zoologist |
| Research field | Animal morphology |
| Animal camouflage |
| Embryology |
| Zoology |
| Activity | Education:
Royal High School, Edinburgh; University of Edinburgh; Christ's College, Cambridge (MA)
Career:
Interrupted his studied to join an Argentine survey expedition, creating an account of his experience (1889-91); second expedition, accompanied by J.S. Budgett (1896-7); appointed demonstrator in animal morphology at Cambridge (1897-902); wrote to the Admiralty advocating the use of obliterative shading and disruption to render ships less conspicuous, the suggestion was eventually adopted resulting in more than 5000 ships being treated by this method used almost universally during the Second World War (1914); regius professor of zoology at Glasgow (1902-1935); elected member of parliament for the Scottish Universities (1935-1950); moved to Barley, near Royston, Hertfordshire were he would spend the rest of his life.
Honours:
Kt 1939
Medals/Awards:
Linnean gold medal (1955)
Memberships:
FRSE; FZS; FLS; Scottish Marine Biological Association (President 1942–9); Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh (President 1906–9); Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow (President 1925–8) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 06/05/1909 |
| Age at election | 40 |
| Proposer | Adam Sedgwick; Philip Lutley Sclater; Edwin Ray Lankester; George Albert Boulenger; William Abbott Herdman; Peter Chalmers Mitchell |
| Royal Society activity | Royal Society roles:
Council 1920-22; 1936-8
VP 1937-1938 |
| Relationships | Parents: James Kerr, former principal of Hooghly College, Calcutta, and Sybella Graham, of Hollows, Dumfriesshire.
Spouse: 1) Elizabeth Mary (d. 1934), a first cousin, and daughter of Thomas Kerr, writer to the signet (1903) 2) Isobel, daughter of A. Dunn Macindoe and widow of Alan Clapperton, solicitor (1936) |
| Published works | RCN 19286
RCN 10865
RCN 30820 |
| General context | Known for his work on embryology of lungfishes.
Made early contributions to ship camouflage in the First World War. |
| Royal Society Obituary or Memoir | Click to view (may be contained within a meeting notice, presidential address or list of death notices) |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Image | 
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| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DSB
Obituaries:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1958 vol 4 pp 155-166, plate, by Edward Hindle |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/40122446 |
| Royal Society code | NA1780 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| MM/16/118 | Letter from JG Kerr, Glasgow, to WB Hardy | 26 January 1925 |
| EC/1909/16 | Kerr, Sir John Graham: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| IM/GA/WS/3041 | Kerr, Sir John Graham | nd |
| NLB/40/710 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Messrs Harrison & Sons | 16 July 1909 |
| NLB/19/34 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to John Graham Kerr, Christ's College, Cambridge | 6 June 1899 |
| NLB/19/353 | Copy letter from Theodore E James, to John Graham Kerr, Christ's College Cambridge | 23 August 1899 |
| NLB/19/199 | Copy letter from Arthur William Rucker, to Sir John George Kerr, [Fellow of the Royal Society] | 11 July 1899 |
| NLB/18/706 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to John Graham Kerr, [Fellow of the Royal Society], Christ's College, Cambridge | 26 April 1899 |
| NLB/19/60 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Edwin Wilson | 9 June 1899 |
| NLB/19/374 | Copy letter from Theodore E James, to John Graham Kerr, [Fellow of the Royal Society] | 4 September 1899 |
| NLB/20/103 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to John Graham Kerr, [Fellow of the Royal Society] | 1 February 1900 |
| NLB/20/417 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to John Graham Kerr, [Fellow of the Royal Society], Christ's College, Cambridge | 24 April 1900 |
| NLB/43/229 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Professor [John Graham] Kerr, Fellow of the Royal Society | 24 November 1910 |
| NLB/46/702 | Copy letter from John Rose Bradford, to Professor [John Graham] Kerr, Fellow of the Royal Society | 18 October 1912 |
| NLB/54/80 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [John] Graham Kerr, FRS | 3 February 1917 |
| NLB/50/478 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Professor [John] Graham Kerr, Fellow of the Royal Society | 15 July 1914 |
| RR/20/36 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'On dimensions of chromosomes considered in relation to phylogeny' by John Bretland Farmer and L Digby | 16 November 1913 |
| RR/22/57 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The development of the thymus, epithelial bodies, and thyroid in the marsupialia. Part I - Trichosurus vulpecula' by Elizabeth A Fraser and James Peter Hill | May 1915 |
| RR/22/55 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The development of the thymus, epithelial bodies, and thyroid in the marsupialia. Part I - Trichosurus vulpecula' by Elizabeth A Fraser and James Peter Hill | May 1915 |
| RR/35/49 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Studies on the relation of gonadic structure to plumage characterisation in the domestic fowl.—III. The laying hen with cock's plumage' by Francis Albert Eley Crew | April 1927 |
| RR/35/95 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Studies on the relation of gonadic structure to plumage characterisation in the domestic fowl.—II. The developmental capon and poularde' by A W Greenwood and F A E Crew | March 1927 |
| NLB/58/643 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [John] Graham Kerr, FRS | 2 June 1920 |
| RR/38/52 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Studies on the relation of gonadic structure to plumage characterisation in the domestic fowl. IV. - Gonad cross-transplantation in leghorn and campine' by A W Greenwood | March 1928 |
| NLB/58/888 | Copy letter from Edwin Deller, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [John] Graham Kerr, FRS | 29 June 1920 |
| RR/14/187 | Referee's report by Albert Charles Lewis Gottgilf Günther, on a paper 'The external features in the development of Lepidosiren paradoxa, Fitz' by John Graham Kerr | nd [May 1899] |
| RR/14/186 | Referee's report by Walter Frank Raphael Weldon, on a paper 'The the external features the development of Lepidosiren paradoxa, Fitz' by John Graham Kerr | nd [May 1899] |
| RR/52/42 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Studies in Tunicate development - Part III - Differential retardation and acceleration' by Norman John Berrill | August 1934 |
| RR/24/89 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The structure, evolution and origin of the Amphibia. - The "orders' Rachitomi and Stereospondyli' by David Meredith Seares Watson | [April 1917] |
| RR/55/33 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Studies in tunicate development. Part V - The evolution and classification of ascidians' by Norman John Berrill | June 1935 |
| RR/52/100 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The development of patella vulgata' by F G W Smith | 4 July 1934 |
| RR/56/26 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Studies of the epidermal structures of birds' by Anne Hosker | [June 1935] |
| RR/65/82 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The origin and developmental mechanics of the avian sternum' by Honor Bridget Fell | 27 July 1938 |
| NLB/63/246 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [John] Graham Kerr, FRS | 22 July 1922 |
| NLB/68/99 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [John] Graham Kerr, FRS | 11 May 1925 |
| NLB/66/790 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Prof. J. Graham Kerr, FRS | 9 July 1924 |
| NLB/68/682 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [James Gordon] Gray | 13 October 1925 |
| NLB/71/466 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Prof. [John] Graham Kerr, FRS | 1 June 1928 |
| NLB/71/455 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Prof. [John] Graham Kerr, FRS | 30 May 1928 |
| CD/5/17 | Copy letter from the Royal Society, to Professor [John] Graham Kerr, Professor [John Stanley] Gardiner, Professor [James Thomas] Wilson, Sir [David] Prain, Dr [Arthur William] Hill, Sir Arthur Keith, Sir [Alfred Daniel] Hall, Professor [Robert] Newstead, Colonel [Henry George] Lyons, Dr [John William] Evans, Sir [Richard] Threlfall, Sir [John] Cadman | 18 January 1923 |
| NLB/73/173 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Prof. [John] Graham Kerr, FRS | 26 January 1931 |
| NLB/19/685 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to John Graham Kerr, [Fellow of the Royal Society] | 22 November 1899 |
| RR/39/21 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Studies in tunicate development. Part I.— General physiology development of simple Ascidians' by Norman John Berrill | [December 1928] |
| RR/39/56 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The vascular filaments on the pelvic limbs of Lepidosiren, their function and evolutionary significance' by J T Cunningham | [October 1929] |
| RR/49/14 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The segmentation and chondrification of the skull of the duck' by Gavin Rylands De Beer and Ernest James William Barrington | [October 1933] |
| RR/52/43 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Studies in tunicate development Part IV—Asexual reproduction' by Norman John Berrill | August 1934 |
| 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 |
| NLB/52 | New Letter Book volume 52, copy letters sent from Royal Society administration | 9 July 1915-8 March 1916 |
| RR/33/29 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'A contribution to the anatomy of the ductless glands and lymphatic system of the angler fish (Lophius piscatorius)' by Richard Huggins Burne | December 1926 |
| RR/33/109 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The development of the chondrocranium of the eel (anguilla vulgaris), with observations on the comparative morphology and development of the chondrocranium in bony fishes' by J R Norman | November 1925 |
| RR/39/65 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Observations on electrical stimulation of the cerebellar cortex' by D Denny-Brown, J C Eccles and Edward George Tandy Liddell | nd [March 1929] |
| RR/45/35 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Experimental researches on the emission of oxygen by the pelvic filaments of the male lepidosiren with some experiments on Symbranchus marmoratus' by J T Cunningham and D M Reid | [September 1931] |
| RR/19/116 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Danish researches in the Atlantic and Mediterranean on the life-history of the Fresh-water Eel (Anguilla vulgaris, Turt.), with notes on other species' by J Schmidt | [April 1912] |
| RR/28/30 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The development of the hepatic venous system and the postcaval vein in the marsupialia' by Margaret Tribe | nd [1922] |
| RR/35/55 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'The bionomics of certain air-breathing fishes of India, together with an account of the development of their air-breathing organs' by B K Das | August 1927 |
| RR/36/100 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Structure and function of the organs of feeding and digestion in the septibranchs, Cuspidaria and Poromya' by Charles Maurice Yonge | [June 1927] |
| RR/41/22 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'Studies in tunicate development. Part I.— General physiology development of simple Ascidians' by Norman John Berrill | July 1930 |
| RR/78/5 | Referee's report by John Graham Kerr, on a paper 'A primitive dipnoan fish from the Lower Devonian of Germany' by W Lehmann and Thomas Stanley Westoll | 17 February 1952 |
| MC/24/155 | Letter from [Adam] Sedgwick, 4 Cranmer Road, Cambridge, to the [Royal Society] | 7 January 1909 |
| NLB/39/358 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Professor Adam Sedgwick, Fellow of the Royal Society | 8 January 1909 |
| MC/27/200 | Letter from [John] Graham Kerr, University of Glasgow, to the [Royal Society] | 2 December 1912 |
| NLB/47/115 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Professor J [John] Graham Kerr FRS | 3 December 1912 |
| MC/29/150 | Letter from [John] Graham Kerr, Natural History Department, University of Glasgow, to the [Royal Society] | 29 March 1914 |
| MC/30/68 | Letter from [John] Stanley Gardiner, Cambridge, to Mr [Robert] Harrison, [Royal Society] | 24 October 1915 |
| NLB/52/28 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society to Professor John Graham Kerr FRS | 23 July 1915 |
| MC/30/104 | Letter from [John] Graham Kerr, Natural History Department, University of Glasgow, to the [Royal Society] | 7 July 1915 |
| MC/31/86 | Letter from [John] Graham Kerr, Natural History Depatment, University of Glasgow, to the [Royal Society] | 18 January 1916 |
| MC/32/155 | Letter from [John] Graham Kerr, Natural History Department, University of Glasgow, to the [Royal Society] | 1 February 1917 |
| MC/35/89 | Letter from John Graham Kerr, Natural History Department, University of Glasgow, to [William Bate] Hardy | 21 November 1921 |