Derek Wragge Morley
Encyclopedia
Basil Derek Wragge-Morley (1920 - 1969) born in Cambridge
was most noted for his work on the study of ants. Derek Wragge-Morley was an independent scientific consultant, who also held posts in journalism throughout his working life. He died aged 49 after battling with numerous illnesses.
, Social Behaviour of animals, and the behaviour of agricultural pests. During the Second World War he investigated insect pests for the Ministry of Agriculture
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Magazine and the Financial Times
, as well as acting as a consultant for films on scientific subjects and the application of the new sciences of his day in industry, including work on early computers.
He wrote a book about computing machines, entitled "Automatic Data Processing", which was published in 1961 by Her Majesty's Stationery Office for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and acted as a scientific consultant to a film about the application of computers in industry and the pros and cons of installing such systems, entitled "This Automaton Age".
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
was most noted for his work on the study of ants. Derek Wragge-Morley was an independent scientific consultant, who also held posts in journalism throughout his working life. He died aged 49 after battling with numerous illnesses.
Scientific study and works
Throughout his working like, Derek Wragge-Morley held positions related to his knowledge of the sciences and devoted his life's work largely to the study of ants, for which he is perhaps best known.Ants and the academic
Derek Wragge-Morley began his Study of ants when he was 14. When he was 16, he published his first paper on ant research. A year after this, he read two papers to the International Congress for Entomology at Berlin, chairing one of the sessions. He read Natural Sciences at Cambridge. For eight years, he held the Strong Fellowship for philosophical and scientific research, and from 1946-1949, he held the Macaulay Fellowship for Genetical Research at Edinburgh University. In 1948, he was an invitation lecturer at the Institute for Social Anthropology at Oxford. His research included GeneticsGenetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, Social Behaviour of animals, and the behaviour of agricultural pests. During the Second World War he investigated insect pests for the Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture
An agriculture ministry or department of agriculture is a ministry or other government agency charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister for agriculture....
.
Later posts
Derek Wragge-Morley also served as Scientific Editor for both Picture PostPicture Post
Picture Post was a prominent photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months...
Magazine and the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, as well as acting as a consultant for films on scientific subjects and the application of the new sciences of his day in industry, including work on early computers.
Books and films
Derek Wragge-Morley wrote several books on Ants, including "The Ant World", first published by Pelican in 1953. He also produced a film on the subject, "Ant Warfare".He wrote a book about computing machines, entitled "Automatic Data Processing", which was published in 1961 by Her Majesty's Stationery Office for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and acted as a scientific consultant to a film about the application of computers in industry and the pros and cons of installing such systems, entitled "This Automaton Age".