John Brian Richardson (1935–2021)

1. Introduction

John Brian Richardson, one of the pioneers of Silurian–Devonian spore research, passed away on the 31^st of December 2021 at the age of 85. He was one of the architects of the nomenclaturial and taxonomic system used to describe and classify Silurian and Devonian spores. Together with Colin McGregor, John developed a hugely influential dispersed spore-pollen biostratigraphical scheme for the Silurian and Devonian (Richardson and McGregor 1986). In a sustained collaboration with Dianne Edwards and others, John also added considerably to our understanding of early terrestrial plants by using in situ spores to integrate the early land plant megafossil and dispersed spore fossil records. A full listing of his publications is given in the Supplemental Data.

2. Early years (1935–1953)

John was born and raised in Darlington in the northeast of England along with his two sisters. At school he excelled in all academic subjects, especially the sciences, and most sports (particularly rugby). John passed the Eleven-Plus examination at his primary school, thereby gaining entry to Darlington Grammar School. Here he came under the influence of the legendary geography and geology teachers George Chapman and Jack Waltham who inspired in him a profound love of geology. This was a natural progression because John was a very keen rambler who enjoyed investigating the natural history of the British countryside. After passing his A-Levels, it was George Chapman and Jack Waltham who suggested he read geology at the University of Sheffield. John was the first in a long line of geological talent produced by Darlington Grammar School, and also influenced by George and Jack, including Rex Harland, George Hart, Malcolm Hart, Bernard Owens, Jack Pattison and John Varker (Sarjeant 1984; Riding et al. 2020). During this time, he also developed an interest in music, for example playing the cello, and Scottish country dancing. As with most things in his life, John was passionate about all these interests, although nothing could beat his love of geology, the islands around mainland Scotland and walking.

3. Undergraduate and postgraduate student life in Sheffield (1953–1960)

John Richardson arrived at the University of Sheffield in 1953. Upon successful completion of the somewhat generic first year, the students specialised and John found himself among a class of five studying Honours Geology. His four undergraduate colleagues were Michael Atherton, Bernard Knowles, Graham Sylvester and the soon-to-be palynologist William (Bill) Sarjeant. The latter described their rain-sodden second year field excursion to the Isle of Arran, off the west coast of mainland Scotland, where he was utterly bewildered by John’s love for this very cloudy and profoundly wet island (Sarjeant 1984). This enduring affinity was no doubt inspired by John’s first encounter with the Devonian Old Red Sandstone successions of Arran.

At this time Professor Leslie R. Moore, who had arrived as Head of Department in 1949, was beginning to establish a school of palynology (Sarjeant 1984; Spinner et al. 2004; Wellman 2005; Hunter 2013). Charles Downie joined Leslie Moore as a Lecturer in Geology in 1952, and was beginning his seminal body of work on aquatic palynomorphs. Early students at Sheffield began researching Carboniferous spores. Herbert Sullivan was soon joined by Leonard Love, and Roger Neves as they returned from compulsory National Service in the military. Thus, John was exposed to palynomorphs, and began to develop an keen interest in their study. John was soon processing samples in the laboratory that he had collected for his final year undergraduate dissertation from the Middle Devonian ‘Middle Old Red Sandstone’ of the Orcadian Basin of his beloved Scotland. After graduating with his Batchelor’s degree in June 1956, Leslie Moore took on John as a PhD student to undertake further research on the spores recovered from these strata.

When John started his PhD investigating Devonian spores, very little research had been undertaken on this topic. Early palaeobotanical work had recovered in situ spores from the sporangia of various Devonian plants (e.g. Clarke 1885; Arnold 1936). In a truly ground-breaking work, Lang (1925) used hydrofluoric acid to recover spores from the bedding planes of Middle Devonian rocks from Scotland and recognised different forms that he labelled as Types A to I. Over time, palynological processing methods, specifically macerating whole rocks using hydrofluoric acid for siliciclastic rocks, and nitric acid for coals were developed (Riding 2021). Sporadic early work described Devonian spore assemblages using either a system of ‘types’, or the newly developing artificial morphology-based binomial system of spore nomenclature that was being developed within early palynological circles (Thomson 1940, 1952; Eisenack 1944; Naumova 1953; Radford and McGregor 1954).

It was in these fledgling days of palynological research generally, and Devonian spore studies in particular, that Leslie Moore allocated the Devonian Period to John as he sought to build a school covering all aspects of the exciting new science of palynology (Sarjeant 1984; Spinner 1986; Spinner et al. 2004; Wellman 2005). In 1960, John successfully defended his PhD thesis, which was entitled A study of the microflora of the Middle Old Red Sandstone, Orcadian Basin (Richardson 1960a), and very quickly published his principal findings in three classic papers (Richardson 1960b, 1962, 1965). At around the same time the other pioneers of Devonian spore research began to publish their results. These were Colin McGregor in Canada (McGregor 1960); Bill Chaloner in the UK and Canada (Chaloner 1963); Maurice Streel in Belgium (Streel 1964); Keith Allen in Spitsbergen (Allen 1965); and Arlette Moreau-Benoit in France (Moreau-Benoit 1966) (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The British Devonian palaeobotany and palynology team in 1969 comprising, from left to right, John Richardson (minus his trademark beard!), Dianne Edwards, Keith Allen and Bill Chaloner (photograph courtesy of Dianne Edwards).

It is little known that, during his younger days, John was a keen active sportsman. Whilst at university, he represented the local rugby union club Sheffield Tigers. Unfortunately, his playing career was abruptly halted by a foot injury sustained whilst on fieldwork in Orkney, an archipelago of islands off northeast mainland Scotland. However John always maintained a keen interest in both cricket and rugby, and the foot injury never dimmed his passion for walking.

4. King’s College London part I (1960–1965)

After completing his PhD, John was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Geology of King’s College London. He relocated south from Sheffield to London with his wife Monica, whom he had met and married in Sheffield in 1959, and soon a young family began to grow as their first son was born. During this busy period, settling into a new job and taking on family responsibilities, John continued his work on the Scottish Devonian but also began to investigate the Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian successions of the Anglo-Welsh Basin (Richardson 1967). At this time, John and Monica went on to have two more boys. Family life became busier and all his children could not fail to be inspired with John’s infectious love of the natural world.

The post-World War II development of palynology coincided with the emergence of the Cold War as political relationships between the eastern and western blocs markedly deteriorated. Thus palynology began to evolve, virtually independently, within the two regions. Specifically, almost entirely separate taxonomic approaches began to develop. John was aware of the early work in Russia by, for example, Naumova (1953), and was keen that the political situation did not impede the development of the science. Thus he began, as best he could given the circumstances, to collaborate with the Russian scientists working on Devonian spores. John visited Russia on many occasions during this difficult time, usually in conjunction with CIMP (Commission Internationale de la Microflore du Paléozoique) Working Groups. Indeed John made an effort to take lessons and learn the Russian language. His reprint collection of early Russian manuscripts on Palaeozoic palynology, including translations, is one of the most complete in the world.

5. A year in the USA, 1965

A fantastic opportunity arose in 1965 when John was a recipient of a sabbatical award to work in the laboratory of Harlan P. Banks (1913–1998) at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State. Thus, John and his family embarked on the Royal Mail Ship Queen Mary and sailed to New York City. During his time in New York State, John developed a lifelong fascination with the Catskill Mountains and the Devonian geology of this region. By coincidence, a young palaeobotanist, Dianne Edwards, who had just commenced her PhD working on Devonian plant megafossils at the University of Cambridge, was working at Cornell during John’s sabbatical (Figure 1). Subsequently, John was able to collaborate with Dianne on the nature of the in situ spores she recovered from her plant megafossils (Edwards 1968). This was the beginning of a lifelong collaboration integrating palaeobotanical and palynological analyses of early land plants.

6. King’s College London part II (1965–1978)

Much enthused, John returned from the USA to King’s College London. However, his research emphasis shifted slightly as he began to work further back in geological time on Silurian plant spores from the Welsh Borderland (Figure 2). This was of interest because it was here that Lang (1937) had recovered the then earliest known land plant megafossils (Cooksonia) from the uppermost Silurian (Pridoli). At this time, extremely little research had been undertaken on Silurian spores, largely because Lang’s Pridoli plants were believed to represent a benchmark for the origin of land plants. In a classic monograph, Richardson and Lister (1969) showed that diverse assemblages of trilete spores extended back to the Early Silurian. A few years later, a similar succession of Silurian spores was documented from Libya on the Gondwana palaeocontinent by Richardson and Ioannides (1973).

Figure 2. John Richardson (this time with beard) collecting samples at the Cooksonia locality at Perton Lane in the Welsh Borderland in 1977 (photograph courtesy of David and Derek Siveter).

Research students supervised by John at this time at King’s College London were Jancis Ford on the Upper Silurian–Lower Devonian of Scotland (Ford 1971), Sarfraz Ahmed on the Devonian of New York State (Ahmed 1978), Thamer Al-Ameri on the Silurian of Libya (Al-Ameri 1980) and Adnan Hassan on the Lower Devonian Senni Beds of South Wales (Hassan 1982). John also jointly supervised the palynological work of a number of other non-Silurian–Devonian spore PhD students in association with other London universities.

During this time, John’s activities on behalf of volunteer-run societies centred around CIMP and the British Micropalaeontological Society (BMS) (latterly The Micropalaeontological Society - TMS). John worked on a number of CIMP Working Groups, and was the first Secretary of the Palynology Group of BMS. He was a lover of fine wines, particularly those cultivated on Devonian outcrops! At the annual BMS/TMS meetings he began the tradition of a wine reception and these soon developed legendary status for the quality of the wines on offer.

In 1967 John and Monica went on to have two more children, when twin girls were born. Professional and family life became a delicate balance in such a busy household. However, John continued to inspire in all his children a love of geology, hill walking, music and plants. Although none of them went on to carry the geological mantle, they were all inspired by his drive and commitment to his profession. Charming, eloquent and funny, he made family life fun and at the same time, as with everything in John’s life, set high expectations.

7. The Natural History Museum, London (1978–1996)

In the late-1970s, John took the decision to move from King’s College London to become a researcher in the Department of Palaeontology of the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London. In hindsight, this was a prudent move because the Department of Geology at King’s College London was subsequently closed following the infamous Oxburgh Report (Hunter 2013). John established the first palynology laboratory at the NHM, and continued his research without the burden of undergraduate teaching. That said, he consistently found the Civil Service bureaucracy at the NHM profoundly frustrating!

During his time at the NHM, John’s magnum opus was published in collaboration with Colin McGregor (Richardson and McGregor 1986). This monumental work established the first dispersed spore biozonation scheme for the entire Silurian–Devonian interval. Based on three decades of accumulated knowledge from both authors, and summarising the research of all other workers, it is perhaps unsurprising that this classic work is still widely utilised today both in academia and industry.

On joining the NHM, John began to co-supervise a series of PhD students with Dianne Edwards of Cardiff University. These interdisciplinary projects on in situ spores combined Dianne’s expertise on plant megafossils with John’s knowledge of dispersed spores. This succession of students initially comprised Una Fanning (Fanning 1984), Neil Burgess (Burgess 1987) and Charles Wellman (Wellman 1991). A fortuitous discovery in 1986 was to prove groundbreaking for the science (Edwards et al. 1986). On sieving a sample collected by John from the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) of the Anglo-Welsh Basin, the presence of minute plant fragments was noted. Una Fanning returned these to Cardiff where Scanning Electron Microscope examination by herself and Dianne Edwards revealed that they were plant axes with intact sporangia, preserved in three dimensions, with all of their cellular detail perfectly preserved. Subsequently, it was shown that they had been exceptionally preserved by charcoalification during a wildfire event. Thus was discovered the unique North Brown Clee Hills Lagerstätte (NBCH). Work on this Lagerstätte has revolutionised early land plant studies, and continues today.

During this time, in addition to CIMP and BMS/TMS duties, John also served as External Examiner to the MSc course in Palynology run by the Department of Geology at the University of Sheffield. John had always maintained his affiliation with Sheffield, and in particular palynology, and was only too pleased to take on this role. He was someone who took commitment and loyalty very seriously, and expected others to do so. In the early 1990s when the MSc course in Palynology at Sheffield was threatened with closure, John campaigned vigorously for its survival. He rallied high profile scientists from the NHM and used his worldwide links to aid the cause, and no doubt helped considerably in ensuring its survival at that precarious time (Wellman 2005).

Whilst at the NHM, John also engaged in social activities associated with the Department of Palaeontology. His colleague Lorraine Cornish recalls that John was heavily involved in the organisation and planning of the highly successful Sports and Social wine tastings that took place in the museum. Working with a small team of staff including Lorraine Cornish, Paul Henderson and Alison Longbottom, these tastings proved very popular with museum staff and tickets always sold out. John’s role as Treasurer also ensured that the finances were well managed and the team were able to book excellent speakers from the wine profession as well as some in-house experts like ex-Keeper of Palaeontology Bill Ball who had a strong interest in vintage champagnes. The format was tasting eight to 12 wines with an expert who would not only inform the audience about the wines, but provide some amusing anecdotes. Sometimes the team were even able to include some Earth Science background. All who attended the Geology of Italian Wines ‘Red’s under the Beds’ event by Dr Peigi Wallace were very enthusiastic to find out more, even if they felt slightly fragile the next day. One of us (CHW) recalls that John had a bespoke, locked cabinet fitted in the Palynology Laboratory to ensure the safe storage of the wines. John was also a long-standing member of the NHM Rifle Club.

8. Retirement (1996–2021)

Due to Civil Services rules at the time, John had to retire on reaching the age of 60 during 1996. John had no intention of curtailing his research activities, and was granted emeritus status by the NHM with continued access to a laboratory, office and other facilities. Initially, he concentrated on a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) research grant working with Rosa Rodriguez on the Silurian–Devonian boundary successions of northern Spain (Richardson et al. 2001). At this time John’s collaboration with Dianne Edwards on the Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian strata of the Anglo-Welsh Basin, that included the NBCH Lagerstätte, was particularly productive, producing many papers on the in situ spores. This partnership was bolstered by a PhD studentship on sedimentology with Gareth Jenkins (Jenkins 1998), and their final joint palaeobotanical/palynological PhD studentship undertaken by Jenny Morris (Morris 2009).

John had always been a meticulous researcher and was a brilliant microscopist. His monographical work took time to mature as he carefully examined the spores, and prepared detailed descriptions and plates. John could be very critical of those who were not so rigorous in their scientific work. It also meant that when John started a project, it often took many years to complete it, commensurate with his exacting standards. When other workers sometimes ‘encroached on his territory’, that he had been carefully working up for so long, he found it extremely frustrating and this lead to a number of conflicts with other researchers. This, and John’s sustained frustration with bureaucracy, led to an outward perception among those that did not know him well that he could be somewhat irascible. This curtness was merely a veneer and, underneath the somewhat brusque façade, he was extremely charming. However, if anyone published a poorly circumscribed new Devonian spore species, or published a report based on a cursory examination of a spot sample from one of his long-term study areas, that mask could slip!

Finally, age crept up on John and he realized he was never going to fully complete documenting the dispersed spore assemblages from the Upper Silurian–Lower Devonian ‘Lower Old Red Sandstone’ succession of the Anglo-Welsh Basin. However, John embarked on his final PhD project, a joint collaboration with his alma mater the University of Sheffield, and PhD student Alex Ball began work on the project. Sadly, John died on the 31^st of December 2021 whilst Alex was writing up during the final year of his PhD.

Acknowledgements

Dianne Edwards, David Siveter and Derek Siveter kindly provided the photographs of John. Invaluable anecdotes and discussion were provided by Lorraine Cornish and Steve Stukins (NHM) and Dianne Edwards (Cardiff University), with Pippa Richardson kindly providing some details of family life. James B. Riding publishes with the approval of the Executive Director, British Geological Survey (NERC).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.