Sir W. A. (William Abbott) Herdman

Born in Edinburgh in 1858, William Abbott Herdman studied at the University of Edinburgh and early in his career worked with Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, one of the key figures behind the Challenger expedition. In 1881 he became the first holder of the Derby Chair of Natural History at University College Liverpool, where he built a long and influential scientific career.

Herdman was best known as a specialist in tunicates, or sea squirts, and more broadly as a marine zoologist and oceanographer. He devoted much of his work to marine research and to the fishing industry, and he played an important part in developing the marine biological station at Port Erin on the Isle of Man. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and was later knighted.

He died in 1924. Remembered as both a careful researcher and an energetic organizer of science, he helped bring the study of the oceans closer to public life, industry, and university teaching.