Peter Gladstone

Peter Gladstone was born on 16 October 1928 and died on 25 July 2000. He was a British naturalist, specializing in wildfowl, and also worked as a patent attorney. He was a direct descendant of William Ewart Gladstone, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, being his great-grandson. His brother was Sir William Gladstone, 7th Baronet.

Gladstone spent his early years at Hawarden Castle in Wales. He attended Eton College, where his father, Charles Gladstone, served as a housemaster. In 1946, he served in the Palestine Police during the final years of the British Mandate of Palestine.

He pursued higher education at Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied biology from 1949 to 1952. During his time at Oxford, he participated in the 1952 Boat Race, representing Oxford University in rowing.

Following his university studies, Gladstone worked as a biology teacher at Shrewsbury School, a position he held until 1971. That year, he joined the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, an organization founded by Sir Peter Scott, where he contributed to the development of the trust's wildfowl reserve at Martin Mere in Lancashire.

In the 1970s, Gladstone assumed responsibility for Fasque House, a family estate located in Aberdeenshire. In 1998, he traveled to Tibet in an effort to locate the pink-headed duck, a species considered extinct, although his search was unsuccessful.

He was recognized as a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, indicating his active engagement with geographical and exploratory pursuits.

Peter Gladstone passed away at the age of 71 due to a heart attack.