The Life and Legacy of Richard T. Liddicoat
A Timeline of His Life
 | March 2, 1918 Born in Kearsage, Michigan to Richard T. and Carmen Beryl (Williams) Liddicoat. |
 | June 28, 1940 Joins the staff of GIA as assistant director of education Fall 1941 Helps develop the Diamolite; publishes (with Shipley) his first article for Gems & Gemology: “A Solution to Diamond Color Grading Problems” |
 | February 1946 After serving in the U.S. Navy during WWII, returns to GIA as director of research |
 | August 1947 Publishes first edition of the Handbook of Gem Identification |
 | 1948 Named assistant director of GIA |
 | 1949 Named director of GIA New York and GIA Gem Trade Laboratory |
 | April 1952 Named executive director of GIA; assumes editorship of Gems & Gemology |
 | April 1953 Officially introduces the GIA diamond grading system as part of new educational class in New York 1955 GIA Gem Trade Laboratory issues its first Diamond Grading Reports |
 | 1960 Co-authors first edition of The Diamond Dictionary |
 | 1962 Devises the “rapid sight” system for estimating diamond-cutting quality |
 | 1964 Co-authors first edition of The Jewelers’ Manual 1970 Launches a series of extension education classes in Israel taught by Glenn Nord, marking GIA’s first global outreach 1971 First GIA gemology courses taught in Japan (by an affiliate) |
 | 1976 Receives the American Gem Society’s Robert M. Shipley Award Creates the GIA Research Department under the leadership of Dr. D. Vincent Manson |
 | Spring 1981 Publishes first issue of Gems & Gemology in an expanded and redesigned format |
 | 1982 Creates the GIA Alumni Association under Robert Earnest Chairs GIA’s first International Gemological Symposium in Los Angeles |
 | 1983 Steps down as president of GIA; named chairman of the GIA Board of Governors Named Honorary Member of AGTA |
 | 1984 Named Man of the Year by the Consolidated Jewelers Association of New York Named a Founding Organizer of ICA 1985 Receives Modern Jeweler magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award |
 | 1987 Receives the Morris B. Zale Lifetime Achievement Award Becomes the first Honorary Lifetime Member of the Gem Testing Laboratory of Great Britain August 1989 Honored with the dedication of the Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center at GIA |
 | 1991 Named to the National Home Study Council’s Hall of Fame 1992 Named GIA Chairman of the Board for Life |
 | 1995 Receives GIA League of Honor Lifetime Achievement Award |
 | June 2000 Life-size bronze statue created by staff member Michael Clary, placed at the entrance of GIA Carlsbad July 2001 Receives the AGS Lifetime Achievement Award |
 | July 23, 2002 Richard T. Liddicoat died at his home in Santa Monica after a struggle against cancer. |
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