Thomas Alan Stephenson

Thomas Alan Stephenson FRS^[1] (19 January 1898 – 3 April 1961) was a British naturalist, and marine biologist, specialising in sea anemones.

Education[]

Stephenson was born at Burnham-on-Sea, the son of a minister and amateur botanist. He soon developed an interest in natural history and went to study at University College, Aberystwyth. He began to study the local sea anemones there, but had to abandon his studies because of illness. Despite not completing his degree, he was made a staff member and was later awarded a doctorate for the body of work that he had produced.

Career[]

Stephenson held a number of academic posts in Britain, and at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Significantly, his final position was that of Professor and Head of the Department of Zoology at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.

The National Marine Biological Library at the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth hold some of his personal and scientific records, including paintings, negatives and notebooks on South Africa.

References[]

Further reading[]

• "Thomas Alan Stephenson". Natural History Museum. 2005. Archived from the original on December 23, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2006.
• John R. Finnerty. "The Starlet Anemone Web Resource". Retrieved June 23, 2006.
• "Fellows of the Royal Society: S". Royal Society. 2004.
• T. A. Stephenson material in the MBA Archive Collection: https://web.archive.org/web/20120713002301/http://www.mba.ac.uk/NMBL/archives/archives_personal/personal_papers.htm#richard
• Williams, R.B. 2014. An annotated catalogue of the botanical paintings of Thomas Alan Stephenson FLS (1898 - 1961). The Linnean Newsletter. 30: 37 - 46.