18 Facts About Richard Dell

Richard Kenneth Dell was a New Zealand malacologist.

Richard Dell even managed to start a "museum" in his backyard.

Richard Dell helped curate the Auckland War Memorial Museum shell collection.

Richard Dell took a teacher's course at Auckland Teachers' College, but World War II delayed his plans to become a teacher.

Richard Dell joined the New Zealand Artillery, serving on Nissan Island, the Solomon Islands, Southwest Asia, Egypt, and Italy.

Richard Dell later published several papers on the land snails he had collected in the Solomon Islands.

Richard Dell's wife continued working after their marriage and became a well-known women's advocate.

Richard Dell was one of the zoologists studying invertebrates on the 1949 New Zealand American Fiordland Expedition.

Richard Dell's breakthrough came with the 1954 Chatham Islands expedition.

In 1965 Richard Dell was a participant in the Royal Society Expedition to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate.

Richard Dell became first Assistant Director in 1961 and later in 1966, Director of the Dominion Museum, which would become the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Richard Dell published more than 150 papers on Mollusca, crabs and birds.

Richard Dell made a major contribution to the Antarctic biogeography.

Richard Dell was an honoured member of many scientific societies and committees.

Richard Dell won prizes and medals in New Zealand and abroad, including the Hamilton Prize in 1955, and the Hector Medal in 1965, both awarded by the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Richard Dell has named many new species of molluscs and several new crustaceans.

Richard Dell died in 2002, after a long illness, in Wellington.

Richard Dell was survived by his wife, Dame Miriam Dell, and their four daughters.