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Proud, John Seymour (1907 - 1997)

Kt cr
Published Sources
Engineer and Company director
Born: 1907.  Died: 7 october 1997.
(Sir) John Seymour Proud was a distinguished mining engineer, Company Director and benefactor. He was a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Institute of Marketing Management and of the Institute of Engineers Australia. He was also a Life Member of the Royal Society of New South Wales. To add to that phenomenal record, Proud was also Knighted in 1978, has had the mineral Proudite named in his honour and has received two honorary doctorate degrees.

Career Highlights
After working in the family business for a short time, (Sir) John Seymour Proud enrolled in the University of Sydney where he completed a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in Mining and Metallurgy. After several years in research and practical engineering his career switched to the field of management. Over his illustrious career Proud had numerous jobs including Director of CSIR, Manager of Peko Mines and later Chairman of Peko-Wallsend and was Founder and Chairman of Trustees of the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation. Proud was also a very generous man with an passion for the Arts and environment. He was a major force behind the establishment of Earthwatch Australia and established the Sir John Proud Fund for the purchase of Rare Books.

Poud is extremely lucky to have achieved all this because his life was almost cut short at the age of 29. In 1937 while on a mining expedition to New Guinea, Proud was involved in an airplane crash. He and two of his fellow passengers survived but were badly injured. Not only did they extraordinarily survive the crash, but also the eleven days it took rescuers to find them.

Chronology
1937Plane crash in McPherson Ranges in New Guinea
1960 - 1978Chairman of Peko-Wallsend Ltd
1971 - 1977Trustee of the Australian Museum
1974AusIMM Award received from the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
1974 - 1979Director of CSR
1974 - 1983Fellow of the Senate at the University of Sydney
1978Knight Bachelor (Kt cr)
1978 - 1982Chairman of Electrical Equipment Ltd Group
1978 - 1982Chairman of Oil Search Ltd.
1978 - 1987Inaugural Chair of the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation
1984Doctor of Engineering honoris causa (DEng) received from The University of Sydney
1996Doctor of Letters honoris causa (DLitt) received from the Australian National University

 

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Structure based on ISAAR(CPF) - click here for an explanation of the fields.Prepared by: Annette Alafaci
Created: 26 September 2006
Modified: 27 September 2006

Published by The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre on ASAPWeb, 1994 - 2007
Originally published 1994-1999 by Australian Science Archives Project, 1999-2006 by the Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre
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Updated: 26 February 2007
http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P004777b.htm

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