biology

William Dickson Lang

William Dickson Lang is a biology 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 Dickson Lang rather than just read about it. In short: William Dickson Lang (28 September 1878 – 3 March 1966) was Keeper of the Department of Geology at the British Museum from 1928 until 1938. Early life Lang was born at Kurnal, India the second son of Edward Tickle Lang and Hebe, the daughter of John Venn Prior.

Key takeaways

William Dickson Lang belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of William Dickson Lang from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

William Dickson Lang (28 September 1878 – 3 March 1966) was Keeper of the Department of Geology at the British Museum from 1928 until 1938.

Early life Lang was born at Kurnal, India the second son of Edward Tickle Lang and Hebe, the daughter of John Venn Prior. At the age of 1, the family returned to England from the Punjab region of India. Lang's father was a civil servant, who had been working on the Jumna Canal in the Punjab.

Education William Lang was educated at Christ's Hospital School, then went to Harrow School in 1894 and Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1898 to read zoology. He graduated with his B.A. in 1902 and M.A. in 1905.

Career In 1902 he started as an assistant in the Geology Department of the British Museum (N.H.) in charge of Protozoa, Coelenterates, Sponges and Polyzoa (=Bryozoa). During World War I he was made curator of mosquitos and produced in 1920 "A Handbook on British mosquitos". After the war he returned to the Geology Department and in 1928 became Keeper of Geology in succession to F. A. Bather. Lang was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 1929. His candidacy citation read: "Distinguished for his knowledge of palaeontology; has applied evolutionary principles to the systematic arrangement of fossil polyzoa and corals, studying the recapitulation of ancestral characters in the post-embryonic growth-stages of compound as well as simple organisms, e.g., 'Brit Mus Catalogue Fossil Bryozoa' (1921, 1922), 'The Pelmatoporinae'. Lang elucidated in detail the faunal and stratigraphical succession of the Lias along the Dorset coast, with special relation to ammonites. He was a proponent of the theory of orthogenesis, believing that several lineages of cribrimorph cheilostome bryozoans evolved progressively thicker and more elaborate skeletal structures which eventually became maladaptive, driving the lineage to extinction. By extending the study of existing British species of mosquitoes to their four larval stages, previously ill-known, he tested the relationships already inferred from imaginal characters.

Later life Lang mentored many students, who came to use the facilities of the British Museum (N.H.). He retired from the British Museum (N.H.) in 1938 and moved to Charmouth, Dorset, where he had holidayed from an early age. In 1940, Lang, Stanley Smith and H. Dighton Thomas published the "Index to palaeozoic coral genera". In his retirement Lang wrote several articles about Mary Anning, the fossil collector. He also published on the geology and palaeontology of the Dorset coast around Charmouth. In all, he published over 130 papers. He was president of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society from 1938 to 1940 and member of its council from 1956 to 1966. He was well liked and respected, and his letters to colleagues and students, including Dorothy Hill, demonstrate the respect and affection with which he and his work was held.

Personal life Lang married Georgiana Dixon in 1908; they had a son, W. Geoffrey Lang and a daughter, J. Brenda Lang. He died in 1966 and was survived by his wife and children.

Notes

Further reading Snow, Keith R. (2003). "William Dickson Lang – a pioneer of British mosquito study" (PDF). European Mosquito Bulletin. 16 (6): 6.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William Dickson Lang

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William Dickson Lang claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, 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 Dickson Lang 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 Dickson Lang 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 Dickson Lang

In research: William Dickson Lang appears in biology 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 Dickson Lang 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 Dickson Lang is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1878 births, 1966 deaths, Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William Dickson Lang 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 Dickson Lang in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is William Dickson Lang in simple terms?

William Dickson Lang (28 September 1878 – 3 March 1966) was Keeper of the Department of Geology at the British Museum from 1928 until 1938. Early life Lang was born at Kurnal, India the second son of Edward Tickle Lang and Hebe, the daughter of John Venn Prior.

Why does William Dickson Lang matter?

Because it connects several biology 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 Dickson Lang?

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 Dickson Lang.