[Taxacom] Farewell to a Friend

[Richard Pyle]

Dear Taxacomers,

It saddens me to inform you that one of the greatest systematic ichthyologists who ever lived has left us.  Dr. John E. "Jack" Randall passed away peacefully earlier this week, with his family by his side.  He would have been 96 years old later this month.  With more than 900 books and scientific publications to his credit, he's surpassed the publication record of any ichthyologist in history.  He continued to work on specimens and with colleagues from his home right up until the end, with as many as two dozen (or more) additional manuscripts in various stages of preparation/publication, essentially all of which will eventually be published. His extensive (~800 pages!) Memoirs are in the hands of the publisher, and should be available later this year. We're still compiling the total number of new taxa he discovered and described, but it includes at least 30 new genera and more than 830 new species (of which 97% are currently regarded as valid).  Depending on where the dust settles with his remaining manuscripts, he will likely surpass Pieter Bleeker as the most prolific describer of fish species in history (Bleeker's current tally of valid fish species hovers at 837, according to the Catalog of Fishes and FishBase).

But the statistics hide the true story of Jack Randall, who was universally loved as an incredibly generous and approachable person -- an intellectual Giant with a heart of gold, and time to spare for anyone and everyone who reached out to him.  You don't need to take my word for it:  just peruse the comments that have been posted in his memory here:
http://marineexploration.org/jack/

You can also see his obituary in the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/jack-randall-marine-taxonomist-known-as-dr-fish-dies-at-95/2020/04/30/25a9f9ac-8a41-11ea-8ac1-bfb250876b7a_story.html

He was one-of-a-kind, and will be greatly missed.

Aloha,
Rich

Richard L. Pyle, PhD
Senior Curator of Ichthyology | Database Coordinator
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI 96817-2704
Office: (808) 848-4115;  Fax: (808) 847-8252
eMail: deepreef at bishopmuseum.org
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