William John Dakin

Who was William John Dakin?

William John Dakin was a zoologist who is remembered for the large number of his students who achieved prominence in the area of zoology and for the number of books and papers he wrote on many scientific fields.

Dakin was born in Toxteth, a suburb of Liverpool, England in 1883 the son William and Elizabeth Dakin. His father was a coal merchant.

Studying at the University of Liverpool he attained his BSc with first class honours in Zoology in 1905, his MSc in 1907 and his DSc in 1911 on osmotic pressure and the blood of fishes.

In 1912 Dakin applied and was appointed as the chair of Biology at the recently established University of Western Australia. Before arriving to take his post Dakin married Catherine Lewis in 1913. While at UWA Dakin published The Elements of Animal Biology in 1918, chaired the extension committee, twice visited the Houtman Abrolhos and was the president of the Royal Society of Western Australia.