Kenneth Williamson

Kenneth Williamson FRSE MBOU (c. 1914 – 14 June 1977) was a British ornithologist who had a strong association with Scotland and with bird migration.

Life

Williamson was born in Bury, Lancashire.

He trained at the York Museum under Reginald Wagstaffe.

He served with the British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II from 1941 to 1945. He was Director of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory (1948–1957). He served as editor of the journal Bird Migration (1958–1963). He served on the British Birds Rarities Committee (1959–1963).

On 2 March 1959 Williamson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were George Waterston, Vero Wynne-Edwards, John Berry and James Ritchie.

From 1955 to 1977 he was Migration Research Officer for the British Trust for Ornithology.

He died unexpectedly during the night of 14/15 June 1977.

Family

He married Esther Louise Rein of Tórshavn in 1944, with whom he had a daughter and a son.

Publications

As well as numerous ornithological papers, books authored or coauthored by Williamson include:

• 1937 – The Sky’s Their Highway. Putnam: London. (Illustrated by Charles Tunnicliffe)
• 1948 – The Atlantic Islands. A Study of the Faeroe Life and Scene. Collins: London.
• 1960 – St Kilda Summer. Hutchinson: London. (With J. Morton Boyd).
• 1963 – A Mosaic of Islands. Oliver & Boyd: London. (With J. Morton Boyd).
• 1965 – Fair Isle and its Birds. Oliver & Boyd: London.

References

• Former RSE Fellows, 1783–2002
• Williamson, Kenneth; & Boyd, J. Morton. (1960). St Kilda Summer. Hutchinson: London.
• Williamson, Kenneth. (1970). The Atlantic Islands. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London. (2nd edition). ISBN 0-7100-6911-1