George Basil Popov

George Popov was appointed to the Middle East Anti-Locust Unit by Boris Uvarov in 1943.

His interest in migratory locusts and other grasshoppers (acridology) saw him visit Socotra (an expedition for Desert Locust Survey Nairobi), Eritrea, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Russia.

After retirement he remained active, embarking on programs for the Food and Agriculture Organization and others.

Popov's knowledge of the Arabian Peninsula led to his receiving the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal (1995) from the Royal Society for Asian Affairs.

[3] The many botanical specimens collected during his studies of locusts were donated to the British Museum between 1966 and 1997.