Ryder, Michael Lawson, 1927-2015
Dates
- Existence: 1927 - 2015
Biography
Michael Lawson Ryder was born in Leeds in 1927. His schooling at Leeds Grammar School was interrupted by his evacuation to the Yorkshire Dales during the Second World War. After completing his National Service in West Africa between 1945 and 1948, Ryder enrolled at the University of Leeds, receiving his BSc in 1951. In the same year, he began work in the biology department of the Wool Industries Research Association in Leeds, but also continued his studies at the University of Leeds, gaining his MSc in 1954 and PhD in 1956.
From 1960 to 1962 Ryder was a senior lecturer in Livestock Husbandry at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia. The following year, he returned to the UK to take up the position of Principal Scientific Officer at the Animal Breeding Research Organisation in Edinburgh. He remained at ABRO for twenty years, also becoming an Honorary lecturer at the University of Edinburgh in 1966. In 1984, he left ABRO to work for three years at the Hill Farming Research Organisation.
Ryder became known as an international expert on sheep and wool, publishing over 220 academic papers and several academic books, including 'Wool Growth' (1968) and the acclaimed 'Sheep and Man' (1983), which combined anthropology, archaeology, geography and folklore as well as biology and agriculture. The book encapsulated Ryder's lifelong interest in the domestication and spread of sheep among ancient civilizations, in the European middle ages the Islamic world. Ryder also made significant contributions to archaeozoology with his book 'Animal Bones in Archaelogy' (1961) and other papers. He continued to use his knowledge to analyse and interpret preserved ancient wool and textile remains, such as the finds from the site of Hallstatt in Austria in 2007.
After his retirement, Ryder relocated to Hampshire and continued to reseach and travel widely. He died on 6 February 2015.
Found in 86 Collections and/or Records:
The structure of, and growth cycles in, the coat of Wild Mouflon sheep (Ovis musimon) and their crosses, 1973
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1973 - 1974. Volume 8 of 19.
The use of skin autografts to study wool growth cycles in sheep, 1977
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1977. Volume 11 of 19.
The world's largest wool producer, 1965
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1965 - 1966. Volume 4 of 19.
Thyroxine and wool follicle activity, 1979
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1979. Volume 13 of 19.
Variation in the birthcoats of Wiltshire lambs, and its relation to casting of the adult fleece, 1973
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1973 - 1974. Volume 8 of 19.
Why not grow fine wool in Britain?, 1975
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1975. Volume 9 of 19.
Why should rare breeds of livestock be saved?, 1976
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1976. Volume 10 of 19.
Wool fibre shedding and seasonal variation in wool growth, 1965
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1965 - 1966. Volume 4 of 19.
Wool fibre shedding in some Merino sheep, 1967
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1967 - 1968. Volume 5 of 19.
Wool from Samuel Marsden's sheep and other contemporary Merinos, September 1966
Located in A.B.R.O. Reprints 1965 - 1966. Volume 4 of 19.
Additional filters:
- Type
- Archival Object 85
- Collection 1
- Subject
- Animal Genetics 85
- Sheep 45
- Wool--Growth 34
- Wool 24
- Seasonal variations 12
- Animals and history 10
- Sheep breeds 9
- Wool industry 7
- Great Britain 6
- Merino sheep 5
- Scotland 5
- Animals--Colour 4
- Evolution (Biology) 4
- Hides and Skins 4
- Textile fabrics 4
- Archaeology 3
- Australia 3
- Cross-Breeding 3
- Domestication 3
- Goats 3
- Hair 3
- Lambs 3
- Livestock improvement 3
- Red deer 3
- Archaeological sites 2
- Cattle 2
- Histology 2
- Moulting 2
- Rare breeds 2
- Abnormalities, Animal 1
- Adaptation (Biology) 1
- Angus (Scotland) 1
- Animal Breeding 1
- Animal diversity conservation 1
- Animal feeding 1
- Animal fibers 1
- Animal populations--Climatic factors 1
- Animal products 1
- Animals 1
- Animals--Diseases 1
- Biological laboratories--Equipment and supplies 1
- Biology 1
- Cats 1
- Crimea (Ukraine) 1
- Dermatology 1
- Economic conditions 1
- England 1
- Epidermis 1
- Europe, Southern 1
- Fife Scotland 1
- Food 1
- France 1
- Fur 1
- Germany 1
- Hair cells--Regeneration 1
- Hebrides (Scotland) 1
- Highland Clearances 1
- Human-animal relationships 1
- Hybridisation 1
- Ireland 1
- Livestock 1
- Mammoths 1
- Mouflon sheep 1
- New Zealand 1
- Orkney Scotland 1
- Paper 1
- Rams 1
- Rhinoceros horn industry 1
- Scotland -- Inverness-shire -- St Kilda 1
- Sheep industry 1
- Shetland (Scotland) 1
- Shipwrecks 1
- Soay sheep 1
- Species protection 1
- Spinning 1
- Tell el-Amarna (Egypt) 1
- Textile crafts 1
- Thyroid hormones 1
- Variation (Biology) 1
- Wood 1
- Zoo-archaeology 1
- Zoology 1 + ∧ less