Richard Chorley
| Richard John Chorley | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
4 September 1927 Minehead, Somerset, England |
| Died | 12 May 2002 (aged 74) Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
| Fields | Geomorphology, quantitative geography and Progressing Geography |
Richard John Chorley (4 September 1927 – 12 May 2002) was an English geographer, and Professor of Geography at Cambridge University, known as leading figure in quantitative geography in the late 20th century, who played an instrumental role in bringing in the use of systems theory to geography.
Chorley was born in Minehead, Somerset in an area known as the West Country, with roots in Exmoor and the Vale of Taunton Deane. He was a product of a local primary school and Minehead Grammar School. Later on, Chorley began studying Geomorphology as an undergraduate at the School of Geography at Oxford. He served with the Royal Engineers from 1946 to 1948 and made it Lieutenant. Afterwards he went up to Exeter College, where he obtained his BA with Honours in 1951. Later in 1954 he also obtained his MA at Oxford University, and in 1974 his Sc.D. at Cambridge University.
At Oxford he was greatly influenced by R.P. Beckinsale, who advised Chorley to go on to graduate study in the United States. He made a transatlantic move in 1951 as a Fulbright Scholar to Columbia University where he was a graduate student in the Geology Department and explored the quantitative approach to land form evolution.
Chorley started his academic career as Instructor in Geography at Columbia University, New York in 1952. In 1954 he moved to Brown University, Providence, USA, where he was appointed Instructor in Geology. In 1957, Chorley needed to return to Britain for family reasons. In 1958 he was appointed a Demonstrator at Cambridge University and proceeded to move rapidly up the university hierarchy with a readership in 1970 and ad hominem chair in 1974.
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