CHORLEY, Richard J(ohn) 1927-2002

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born September 4, 1927, in Minehead, Somerset, England; died after a heart attack May 12, 2002, in Cambridge, England. Geographer, geologist, educator, and author. Chorley made significant contributions to geomorphology, the study of the Earth's surface and how it changes over time. He received his M.A. at Exeter College, Oxford in 1954, but it was during his studies at Columbia University under the influence of A. N. Strahler that his innovative ideas about geomorphology began to take root. While in the United States Chorley taught at Columbia and Brown universities during the 1950s; family reasons caused him to return to England, where he was a lecturer at Cambridge from 1962 to 1970 and a reader from 1970 to 1974. In 1974 he received his Sc.D. from Cambridge, becoming a professor in geography that same year. He remained at Cambridge until his retirement in 1994. Chorley caused waves in the field of geology with his theories about the evolution of the structure of the Earth's surface that were counter to the then-popularly held ideas of Davisian cycles of erosion expressed by W. M. Davis. Chorley convincingly argued his case for a General Systems Theory that used model-based paradigms to explain how surface structures evolved. Working with Antony J. Dunn and Robert P. Beckinsale, he published the landmark series "The History of the Study of Landforms; or, The Development of Geomorphology," with volumes released in 1964, 1973, 1991, and posthumously. These books form an important record covering the development of the science of geomorphology. Chorley was also interested in hydrology and meteorology and edited Water, Earth, and Man: A Synthesis of Hydrology, Geomorphology, and Socio-Economic Geography in 1969. In addition to many other edited books on geography and geomorphology, he wrote Atmosphere, Weather, and Climate with Roger Graham Barry in 1968, with the fourth edition being released in 1982, and, with S. A. Schumm and D. Sugdem penned Geomorphology (1985). An influential scholar, Chorley was also beloved by his students as an inspiring lecturer, mentor, and friend who supported and encouraged them even long after graduation.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Writers Directory, 16th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 2001.

PERIODICALS

Independent (London, England), May 18, 2002, p. 20. Times (London, England), June 24, 2002.