Clifford Hiley Mortimer

Clifford Hiley Mortimer (27 February 1911 – 11 May 2010) was a 20th-century British zoologist and expert in hydrodynamics. He was the recipient of the 1995 A.C. Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award.

Life

Mortimer was born in the village of Whitechurch in Somerset, the son of Walter Mortimer and his wife Bessie Russell. His parents had converted to Quakerism during the First World War and he was raised in this faith. His father worked in a printing shop but went blind around 1915, bringing an end to his career. His mother, a farmer's daughter, made ends meet by growing their own vegetables. Clifford and his brother Russell were educated at a Quaker school.

During the Second World War he was attached to the Admiralty as a civilian scientist looking at wave behaviour, especially in reference to the English Channel. He was involved in the design of the floating breakwaters for the D-Day landings. After the war he made similar studies in relation to Lake Michigan in USA.

He died on 11 May 2010 aged 99.

Publications Mortimer’s later publications include:

Awards Mortimer was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1958. In 1995 he received the A.C. Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award for his "lasting and substantive contributions across disciplines of aquatic biology, chemistry and physics, his leadership, and his general commitment to excellence." At this time, a special symposium was held in his honor.

Family

In 1935 he married German citizen Ingeborg Closs (Professor Max Hartmann’s niece) and they had two daughters: Christine and Alison.