Crocker, Robert Langdon

Born in Peterborough in South Australia, Crocker was appointed by the University of Sydney to the Chair of Botany in 1953. At the time, he was tenured Professor of Botany at the University of California and only arrived in Sydney in November 1954. Previously, he had held appointments in South Australia with CSIRO Soils Division and at the Waite Agricultural Institute Department of Agronomy. During World War II, he worked for the Australian Government munitions facility at Salisbury. Crocker's research contributed to our understanding of the role played by plants in the formation of soil and the role of competition in maintaining the stability of the plant community.