David Forbes Martyn
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Dr David Forbes Martyn was born in Cambuslang, Scotland on 22 June 1906, the son of a local doctor. He was educated at Alan Glen's School then the Royal College of Science, London. (Bsc in 1926; PhD in 1929; and DSc in 19360.He was a physicist and radiographer who moved to Australia in 1927 to take up one of the first posts in radio research there. He contributed to the development of coastal and air defence RADAR for Australia during World War II. He was elected FRS of London in 1950.
Australia did not have an equivalent learned society for the whole of the Commonwealth of Australia as each of the states had its own (for example the Royal Society of New South Wales ). Dr Martyn was one of the 12 Fellows of the Royal Society resident in Australia, and it was largely through his patient negotiation that the various scientific bodies in Australia agreed that 11 of these 12 Fellows were independent enough to form a credible Australian Academy of Science (AAS), which they did in 1954. As well as being a foundation Fellow of the AAS, he was elected its Secretary for Physical Sciences for 1954-5 and its President for 1969 until his death in 1970.
His tours, lectures, diplomacy and encouragement were strongly influential in establishing an effectively communicating Australian scientific community. His main interests were radiographic studies of the upper atmosphere and the sun, though his main contributions were theoretical.
He was a keen trout fisherman, which partly explains his growing interests in environmental matters. He married Margaret Adams, from Sydney in 1944 but had no children. He died on 5 March 1970 in Camden New South Wales .
