Richard William Timm

Richard William Timm (March 2, 1923 – September 11, 2020) was a Catholic Priest, educator, zoologist, and development worker. He was the Superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross in Dhaka and a member of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Province. He was also one of the founders of Notre Dame College in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was the 6th principal (1970 to 1972) of Notre Dame College.

Family Born with German ancestry from both sides on March 2, 1923, in Michigan City, Indiana, USA, Timm was the second of four siblings – elder brother Bob, who died on Okinawa in World War II, and younger sisters Mary Jo Schiel and Genevieve Gantner.

Research works Timm, as a biologist, conducted exclusive surveys on nematodes and discovered over 250 new species. Imponema, Filiponema and Plutellonema – three new genera of earth nematodes; with Dr. Armand Maggenti Two varieties of Megadontolaimus – a marine nematode genus from Cox's Bazar The genus, Metasabatieria, together with its type species, Metasabatieria primigena, from the Bay of Bengal

His zoological author abbreviation is Timm. He is considered to be the "father of NGOs" in Bangladesh. He conducted a study on over 1000 workers from 51 export-oriented ready-made garment factories while serving the JPC as the executive secretary. He evaluated the pay scale, freedom of association, and maternity leave of the workers with the help of the students of Notre Dame College, Dhaka and Holy Cross College, Dhaka; later, the results were published in the mainstream media in Bangladesh.

Timm visited the Chittagong Hill Tracts and authored three books where he focused on the deprivation of land rights of the indigenous people of those areas.

Timm founded the Coordinator Council for Human Rights in Bangladesh (CCHRB) and served as its president for three terms, until 1993. He also worked with Justice KM Sobhan to assess human rights in Myanmar, especially the human rights violations of the local workers deployed in the extension of the pipeline of Yadana gas field. He presented the results to the Committee on International Relations of the US House of Representatives.

Activities during the Liberation War of Bangladesh

Activities during the war Timm expressed his opinion against the genocide of the liberation war of Bangladesh through his writing. He emphasized the difficult situations of civilians and the violation of human rights. His letters written to Rohde served to build public opinion around the world and especially in the United States against the war in Bangladesh.

He also conducted relief works for the distressed at the time of the war.

Activities on reconstruction After the liberation war of Bangladesh, Timm actively took part in the newborn country's reconstruction work, together with the UN, USAID, CORR (Christian Organization for Relief and Rehabilitation, later Caritas) and CRS.

Disaster response On November 12, 1970, a great cyclone struck the coastal areas of East Pakistan and killed at least 50,000 people. Timm, assisted by the students of Notre Dame College, CORR (Christian Organization for Relief and Rehabilitation, later Caritas) and HELP (Heartland Emergency Life-Saving Project), conducted several relief expeditions in the affected areas. The response was among the biggest of those taken by non-government people.

Publications Timm's publications include numerous research papers and books.

Books

The Plant-Parasitic Nematodes of Thailand and The Philippines, published by SEATO in 1965

Awards and recognition

Timm was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1987 for International Understanding.

In response to his activities for development, Timm was honored with citizenship from three different governments.

Among the many varieties of nematodes he discovered, the marine nematode Timmia parva was named after Timm himself.