Previous Annual Address 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 |