The Annual Address is one of the flagship events of the Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association and, unlike other aspects of the meeting, is open to non-delegates. Notable palaeontologists are invited to give the Annual Address, with speakers generally holding mid-level research positions. Speakers are chosen by the Association’s Council. Speakers are invited to talk about a subject of their choice from their own research, noting that the talk is open to interested members of the public as well as career palaeontologists.
Previous Annual Addresses speakers
(Addresses indicated with an asterisk were subsequently published by the Association)
| Date | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 12 March 1958 | O. M. B. Bulman | The sequence of graptolite faunas* |
| 11 March 1959 | G. Regnell | The Lower Palaeozoic echinoderm faunas of the British Isles and Balto-Scandia* |
| 9 March 1960 | R. G. S. Hudson | Tethyan faunas |
| 8 March 1961 | T. M. Harris | Fossil cycads* |
| 7 March 1962 | E. I. White | A review of the habitat of the first chordates |
| 6 March 1963 | L. R. Cox | Molluscan relationships and recent finds |
| 4 March 1964 | T. N. George | Morphogeny in the spirifers |
| 3 March 1965 | T. S. Westoll | Problems of the arthrodiran fishes |
| 2 March 1966 | M. Florkin | Palaeobiochemistry |
| 1 March 1967 | A. Williams | Evolution of shell structure in articulate brachiopods* |
| 6 March 1968 | M. Black | Taxonomic problems in the study of coccoliths* |
| 5 March 1969 | P. L. Robinson | Problems in the study of Triassic vertebrates* |
| 4 March 1970 | W. H. Blow | Biostratigraphy and phylogenetic concepts in the Cenozoic Globigerinacea |
| 3 March 1971 | D. Nichols | The water vascular system in living and fossil echinoderms* |
| 1 March 1972 | C. Downie | The Palaeozoic acritarchs* |
| 7 March 1973 | P. C. Sylvester-Bradley | Oysters and Jurassic shorelines |
| 6 March 1974 | M. Lindström | The conodont apparatus as a food-gathering mechanism* |
| 5 March 1975 | W. G. Chaloner | The palaeoclimatic significance of fossil plants |
| 17 March 1976 | R. J. G. Savage | Evolution in carnivorous mammals* |
| 16 March 1977 | M. J. S. Rudwick | Charles Lyell's dream of a statistical palaeontology* |
| 8 March 1978 | E. N. K. Clarkson | The visual system of trilobites* |
| 21 March 1979 | J. H. Callomon | Jurassic ammonites in time and space |
| 12 March 1980 | G. R. Coope | Terrestrial ecosystems of the Upper Pleistocene |
| 18 March 1981 | P. M. Kier | Rapid evolution in echinoids* |
| 26 February 1982 | S. J. Gould & C. Patterson | Palaeontology, evolution and systematics |
| 10 March 1983 | A. Seilacher | Evolutionary pathways in primary and secondary soft bottom dwellers* |
| 14 March 1984 | Y. Coppens | Hominid evolution |
| 28 March 1985 | B. Runnegar | Molecular palaeontology* |
| 19 March 1986 | D. M. Raup | Extinction* |
| 9 March 1987 | A. J. Charig | Ornithischian dinosaurs evaluate cladistic method |
| 14 March 1988 | J. Franzen | The Eocene lake of Messel and its early horses |
| 15 March 1989 | D. Edwards | Pioneering plants |
| 14 March 1990 | P. Westbroek | Emiliana huxleyi as a model organism for evaluating the sciences of life and earth |
| 13 March 1991 | D. E. G. Briggs & S. Conway Morris | The Burgess Shale: new vistas on the history of life |
| 11 March 1992 | A. H. Knoll | The basis of inference about Precambrian evolution |
| 18 March 1993 | A. B. Smith | Molecular and palaeontological perspectives on echinoderm evolution |
| 23 March 1994 | B. Sellwood | Mesozoic palaeoclimate: evaluating General Circulation Model predictions against geological evidence |
| 15 March 1995 | P. Janvier | The dawn of vertebrates. Character versus common ascent in the rise of current vertebrate phylogenies* |
| 13 March 1996 | R. McNeill Alexander | All-time giants* |
| 12 March 1997 | J. R. Cann | Hydrothermal vent communities from the origin of life to the present day |
| 18 March 1998 | C. E. Brett | Evolutionary ecology of mid-Palaeozoic marine faunas |
| 12 May 1999 | P. R. Crane | Palaeontological evidence for the early evolution of flowers |
| 10 May 2000 | D. Walossek | Exceptional preservation of Cambrian 'Orsten' type fossils |
| 2 May 2001 | R. A. Fortey | Deducing life habits of trilobites: science or scenario? |
| 8 May 2002 | H. Torrens | The life and work of S.S. Buckman (1860-1929) geobiochronologist and the problems of assessing the work of past palaeontologists. |
| 15 December 2003 | M. J. Benton | Palaeontology and the future of life on Earth. |
| 18 December 2004 | S. Bengston | Palaeontologia de profundis |
| 19 December 2005 | J. Kennedy | William Buckland and the rise of palaeoecology |
| 19 December 2006 | A. Boucot | What should go into a systematic description |
| 18 December 2007 | A. Lister | Evolution in an Ice Age |
| 20 December 2008 | J. Clack | The emergence of tetrapods: how far have we come in the last twenty years and where can we go in the next? |
| 14 December 2009 | L. Witmer | Digital dinosaurs |
| 18 December 2010 | A. Gale | Ancient origin of the deep sea fauna: evidence from the fossil record |
| 18 December 2011 | P. N. Pearson | Climate and evolution in Cenozoic oceans |
| 16 December 2012 | C. Stringer | New views on the origins of our species |
| 13 December 2013 | M. Coates | Sharks and the deep origin of modern jawed vertebrates |
| 17 December 2014 | A.M. Haywood | Understanding ancient Earth climates and environments using models and data |
| 15 December 2015 | J. R. Hutchinson | Computer modelling and simulation of extinct organisms: its utility and limitations for reconstructing the evolution of locomotor behaviour |
| 15 December 2016 | M. Gouy | Molecular thermometers: ancestral sequence reconstruction uncovers the history of adaptation to environmental temperature along the tree of life |
| 18 December 2017 | M. A. Purnell | 101 uses for a dead fish. Experimental decay, exceptional preservation, and fossils of soft bodied organisms |
| 16 December 2018 | J. E. Francis | Ice in a greenhouse world - 60Ma and 2060 |
| 19 December 2019 | M. E. McNamara | Not just skin deep: probing the secrets of fossil melanin using taphonomic experiments and analytical chemistry |
| 17 December 2020 | R. A. Wood | Tales from the Cambrian Explosion |
| 19 December 2021 | E. J. Rayfield | Decoding the evolution of form and function in the fossil record: why are animals shaped the way they are? |
| 21 July 2022 | D. N. Schmidt | What - if anything - can palaeontology contribute to understanding our climate crisis |
| 13 September 2023 | G. E. Edgecombe | Fossils, molecules and arthropods |
| 11 December 2024 | S. E. Gabbott | Fossils of the future: how palaeontological thinking can help predict humanity’s legacy on Earth |
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