Michael Gallagher – 1922-2014

Michael Gallagher has died on 27th July.

Michael authored The Birds of Oman and helped set up the Natural History Museum of Oman. I met him occasionally, until his retirement in 1998, to ask for information when he was at the Natural History Museum and usually got a patient explanation. With almost thirty species named after him ‘gallagheri’ he was awarded the Zoological Society of London’s Stamford Raffles Prize in 1993 and was appointed Member of the British Empire ‘for services to wildlife conservation in Oman’ in 1994.  Remarkably, for all the work he did, he found time to publish over 100 books and papers. Before coming to Oman he was a Major in the British army in Aden.