astronomy

William Abbott Herdman

William Abbott Herdman is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand William Abbott Herdman rather than just read about it. In short: Sir William Abbott Herdman FRS FRSE FLS (5 September 1858, Edinburgh – 21 July 1924) was a Scottish marine zoologist and oceanographer. His zoological author abbreviation is Herdman.

Key takeaways

William Abbott Herdman belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect William Abbott Herdman to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of William Abbott Herdman from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir William Abbott Herdman FRS FRSE FLS (5 September 1858, Edinburgh – 21 July 1924) was a Scottish marine zoologist and oceanographer. His zoological author abbreviation is Herdman.

Early life and education

He was born in Edinburgh the son of the artist Robert Herdman RSA and his wife, Emma Abbott. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy from 1870 to 1875.

Academic career Archibald Geikie taught him geology during his time at the University of Edinburgh. Herdman graduated BSc in 1879 and became the assistant of Sir Charles Wyville Thomson. In this capacity he was placed as Secretary to the Challenger Expedition Commission: overseeing the deciphering of the huge catalogue of information found during this important exploration. In 1880, he became Demonstrator of Zoology at the University of Edinburgh and then, in 1881, the first holder of the Derby Chair of Natural History at Liverpool University College (later to become the University of Liverpool). In 1881 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, Sir William Turner, Sir Archibald Geikie and Sir John Murray. He won the Society's Neill Prize for the period 1880–1883. In 1890, he founded the research station at Puffin Island off the north Wales coast, appointing Philip Jacob White as its director. He devoted himself from 1891 to the organization of a laboratory for study of the sea. He endowed the Herdman chair of geology in 1916 and then a chair of Oceanography in 1919. He was the author of Founders of Oceanography and Their Work: An Introduction to the Science of the Sea (1923) and made many contributions to the scientific study of the fauna of the Irish Sea. He was also interested in fisheries and in 1901-1902, he studied the harvesting of pearls in Ceylon, during which time he discovered the harpacticoid copepod Syngastes twynami. He was a specialist in tunicates. Herdman was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1892. He served as president of the Linnean Society from 1904 to 1908. He was the president of the British Association for 1919–1920. He was knighted in 1922.

Death He died in London on 21 July 1924. He is buried in the eastern section of Highgate Cemetery.

Family He married twice: firstly in 1882 to Sarah Wyse Douglas (1861-1886), daughter of David Douglas, publisher and bookseller, and secondly in 1893 to Jane Brandreth Holt (1867–1922), daughter of the shipping merchant Alfred Holt.

References

External links Works by or about William Abbott Herdman at Wikisource Isle of Man biography page The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 07 (of 10) (1904) joint author Media related to William Abbott Herdman at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William Abbott Herdman

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William Abbott Herdman claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to William Abbott Herdman before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about William Abbott Herdman ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of William Abbott Herdman

In research: William Abbott Herdman appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses William Abbott Herdman in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: William Abbott Herdman is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1858 births, 1924 deaths, Academics of the University of Liverpool, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William Abbott Herdman outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study William Abbott Herdman in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what William Abbott Herdman means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain William Abbott Herdman out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is William Abbott Herdman in simple terms?

Sir William Abbott Herdman FRS FRSE FLS (5 September 1858, Edinburgh – 21 July 1924) was a Scottish marine zoologist and oceanographer. His zoological author abbreviation is Herdman.

Why does William Abbott Herdman matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study William Abbott Herdman?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on William Abbott Herdman.