Glauert, Ludwig   (1879 - 1963)

Born 5 May 1879 in Ecclesall, Sheffield, UK; died on 1 February 1963 in Perth, WA.

His father was Johann Ernst Louis Henry Glauert, was a merchant and cutlery manufacturer.

He was educated in Sheffield at Sheffield Royal Grammar School, at Firth University College and the Technical School, studying geology, becoming a Fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1900.

In 1908 he and his wife migrated to Perth, Western Australia.

He joined the Geological Survey there as a paleontologist, working to arrange the collections of the Western Australian Museum. In 1910 he became part of the permanent staff of the museum and in 1914 was promoted to Keeper of Geology and Ethnology.

From 1909 to 1915 he carried out fieldwork at the Margaret River caves, finding fossils of several species of extinct monotremes and marsupials in the Pleistocene limestone there.

On 3 October 1917 Glauert enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and served briefly overseas.

After the war he lectured to servicemen on scientific subjects and studied Australian natural history material in the British Museum. On returning to Perth in 1920, he became keeper of the biological collections at the Western Australian Museum.

Glauert completed an arts degree at the WA University in 1928. He was an indefatigable collector in his spare time and produced many papers on fields as diverse as stratigraphical geology, palaeontology, zoogeography, entomology, carcinology, mammalogy, herpetology, ornithology, arachnology and ethnology.

In the 1920s he became embroiled in the public discussion to amalgamate several small herbaria in WA into a new State herbarium, insisting the Museum retain it's own collection. His objection, supported by the Museum Board, scuppered the idea for some time.

He was a member of the Western Australian Naturalists Club and published regularly in the West Australian Naturalist as well as in Western Mail in 'The Naturalist' columns.

In 1948 he was awarded the Australian Natural History medallion and he was appointed M.B.E. after retiring in 1956.

In retirement he continued work on reptiles and scorpions.
He died in Perth on 1 February 1963.

Source: Extracted from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Glauert
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/glauert-ludwig-6400
R.Underwood, 'A Botanical Journey, The Story of the Western Australian Herbarium' (2011) p.79-81
Portrait Photo: Underwood book, ex NLA.pic-vn3799305.

Collecting localities for 'Glauert, L.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 166 specimens