Adam Sedgwick"
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Natural Theology and Natural History in Darwin’S Time: Design
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ETD - Electronic Theses & Dissertations NATURAL THEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY IN DARWIN’S TIME: DESIGN, DIRECTION, SUPERINTENEDENCE AND UNIFORMITY IN BRITISH THOUGHT, 1818-1876 By Boyd Barnes Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Religion May, 2008 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Professor James Hudnut-Beumler Professor Dale A. Johnson Professor Eugene A. TeSelle Professor Richard F. Haglund Professor James P. Byrd William Buckland “The evidences afforded by the sister sciences exhibit indeed the most admirable proofs of design originally exerted at the Creation: but many who admit these proofs still doubt the continued superintendence of that intelligence, maintaining that the system of the Universe is carried on by the force of the laws originally impressed upon matter…. Such an opinion … nowhere meets with a more direct and palpable refutation, than is afforded by the subserviency of the present structure of the earth’s surface to final causes; for that structure is evidently the result of many and violent convulsions subsequent to its original formation. When therefore we perceive that the secondary causes producing these convulsions have operated at successive epochs, not blindly and at random, but with a direction to beneficial ends, we see at once the proofs of an overruling Intelligence continuing to superintend, direct, modify, and control the operation of the agents, which he originally ordained.” – The Very Reverend William Buckland (1784-1856), DD, FRS, Reader in Geology and Canon of Christ Church at the University of Oxford, President of the Geological Society of London, President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Dean of Westminster. -
William Smith Abstracts
William Smith 1769-1839 Acknowledgements This meeting is a part of a number of events that mark the Bicentennial of the first map published by William Smith. We gratefully acknowledge the support of ARUP for making this meeting possible. Sponsor: CONTENTS Inside Cover Sponsors Acknowledgement Event Programme Page 1 Speaker Abstracts Page 37 Poster Abstracts Page 47 Speaker Biographies Page 57 Burlington House Fire Safety Information Page 58 Ground Floor Plan of the Geological Society, Burlington House William Smith Meeting 2015 200 Years of Smith’s Map 23-24 April 2015 PROGRAMME SPEAKER ABSTRACTS William Smith Meeting 23 April 2015 DAY ONE 1 William Smith's (1769-1839) Searches for a Money-earning Career Hugh Torrens Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK email: [email protected] This lecture will concentrate on Smith's, highly complex, early 'career paths'. His first employment was as a land surveyor (1). Then in 1793 he became both, canal surveyor (2), and engineer, (3) to the Somerset Coal Canal (SCC). These had guaranteed him a regular, and known, income. But this suddenly changed, when he was successively dismissed, first as surveyor, then as engineer, in 1799. He now had to find some other means of supporting himself, and the geological revelations, which he knew were so important, that he had uncovered in Somerset. In the mid-1790s, he had done some land drainage and irrigation work (4), for the chairman of the SCC, and immediately after his dismissals, was able to generate an adequate living from such work around Bath, during a period of very high rainfall. -
References Geological Society, London, Memoirs
Geological Society, London, Memoirs References Geological Society, London, Memoirs 2002; v. 25; p. 297-319 doi:10.1144/GSL.MEM.2002.025.01.23 Email alerting click here to receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article service Permission click here to seek permission to re-use all or part of this article request Subscribe click here to subscribe to Geological Society, London, Memoirs or the Lyell Collection Notes Downloaded by on 3 November 2010 © 2002 Geological Society of London References ABBATE, E., BORTOLOTTI, V. & PASSERINI, P. 1970. Olistostromes and olis- ARCHER, J. B, 1980. Patrick Ganly: geologist. Irish Naturalists' Journal, 20, toliths. Sedimentary Geology, 4, 521-557. 142-148. ADAMS, J. 1995. Mines of the Lake District Fells. Dalesman, Skipton (lst ARTER. G. & FAGIN, S. W. 1993. The Fieetwood Dyke and the Tynwald edn, 1988). fault zone, Block 113/27, East Irish Sea Basin. In: PARKER, J. R. (ed.), AGASSIZ, L. 1840. Etudes sur les Glaciers. Jent & Gassmann, Neuch~tel. Petroleum Geology of Northwest Europe: Proceedings of the 4th Con- AGASSIZ, L. 1840-1841. On glaciers, and the evidence of their once having ference held at the Barbican Centre, London 29 March-1 April 1992. existed in Scotland, Ireland and England. Proceedings of the Geo- Geological Society, London, 2, 835--843. logical Society, 3(2), 327-332. ARTHURTON, R. S. & WADGE A. J. 1981. Geology of the Country Around AKHURST, M. C., BARNES, R. P., CHADWICK, R. A., MILLWARD, D., Penrith: Memoir for 1:50 000 Geological Sheet 24. Institute of Geo- NORTON, M. G., MADDOCK, R. -
Newsletter of the History of Geology Group of the Geological Society
HOGG Newsletter of the History of Geology Group of The Geological Society Number 68 February 2020 Front cover WILLIAM AUGUSTUS EDMOND USSHER (1849‒1920), the centenary of whose death is remembered this year. Born in County Galway, Ireland in 1849, Ussher joined the Geological Survey of Great Britain (now British Geological Survey) in 1868 and spent his whole career (retiring in 1909) as a field and mapping surveyor. He is best known for his work in the south-west of England (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset), particularly his work on the Devonian, Carboniferous and Triassic strata. In 1894, he was awarded the Geological Society’s Murchison Medal. Many Survey maps and memoirs bear his name as does the Ussher Society founded in 1962 as a focus for geological research in south-west England. Originally published under the title Proceedings of the Ussher Society, its journal was renamed Geoscience in South-West England in 1998. Sources Anon. 1920. Obituary of Mr W. A. E. Ussher. Nature, 105, 144. Anon [R. D. Oldham] 1921. Obituary Proceedings of the Geological Society in Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 77, lxxiii‒lxxiv. British Geological Survey. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/geologyOfBritain/archives/pioneers/pioneers.cfc?method=search ¤tTab=tab_U Burt, E. 2013. W. A. E. Ussher: an insight into his life and character. Geoscience in South-West England, 13, 165‒171. Dineley, D. L. 1974. W. A. E. Ussher: his work in the south-west. Proceedings of the Ussher Society, 3, 189‒201. House, M. R. 1978. W. A. E. Ussher: his ancestral background. Proceedings of the Ussher Society, 4, 115‒118. -
Letters from Charles Lyell and Adam Sedgwick to H. B. Tristram
LETTERS FROM CHARLES LYELL AND ADAM SEDGWICK TO H. B. TRISTRAM By S. I. TOMKEIEFF SOME years ago in Durham city, I bought a copy of the ninth edition of LyelPs Principles of Geology (1853).* At the back of the front cover it bore the ex libris of H. B. Tristram and an inscription stating that the book was presented to H. B. Tristram by the East Durham Book Hawking Society. Between the pages of this book I found three letters addressed to H. B. Tristram—two from Lyell and one from Sedgwick. These letters, as far as I know, have never been published. The name of Tristram does not occur in Life, letters and journals of Sir Charles Lyell,2 books on Lyell by T. G. Bonney3 and E. Bailey,4 and in Life and letters of Sedgwick.5 Thus the publication of these letters may be of historical interest. I have consulted Lord Lyell and his mother, Lady Lyell, who have no objection to the letters being published, but I failed to get in touch with the descendants of H. B. Tristram, or Sedgwick. The three letters contain no private matter and their publication can offend no one. The Reverend Henry Bower Tristram (182 2-1906), divine and naturalist, obtained his B.A. and M.A. at Oxford, in 1849 he became Rector at Castle Eden, Co. Durham, and in 1870 Canon of Durham Cathedral. In 1855-1857 he travelled in Algeria, the Sahara and later in Palestine and Egypt. In i860 he published a book, The Great Sahara. -
The Geology of Ohio—The Ordovician
A Quarterly Publication of the Division of Geological Survey Fall 1997 THE GEOLOGY OF OHIO—THE ORDOVICIAN by Michael C. Hansen o geologists, the Ordovician System of Ohio bulge), accompanying development of a foreland is probably the most famous of the state’s basin to the east at the edge of the orogenic belt. As Paleozoic rock systems. The alternating shales the Taconic Orogeny reached its zenith in the Late Tand limestones of the upper part of this system crop Ordovician, sediments eroded from the rising out in southwestern Ohio in the Cincinnati region mountains were carried westward, forming a com- and yield an incredible abundance and diversity of plex delta system that discharged mud into the well-preserved fossils. Representatives of this fauna shallow seas that covered Ohio and adjacent areas. reside in museums and private collections through- The development of this delta, the Queenston Delta, out the world. Indeed, fossils from Ohio’s Ordovi- is recorded by the many beds of shale in Upper cian rocks define life of this geologic period, and the Ordovician rocks exposed in southwestern Ohio. rocks of this region, the Cincinnatian Series, serve The island arcs associated with continental as the North American Upper Ordovician Standard. collision were the sites of active volcanoes, as docu- Furthermore, in the late 1800’s, Ordovician rocks in mented by the widespread beds of volcanic ash the subsurface in northwestern Ohio were the source preserved in Ohio’s Ordovician rocks (see Ohio of the first giant oil and gas field in the country. Geology, Summer/Fall 1991). -
Just Before the Beagle: Charles Darwin’S Geological Fieldwork in Wales, Summer 1831 Michael Roberts
Just before the Beagle: Charles Darwin’s geological fieldwork in Wales, summer 1831 Michael Roberts Darwin returned to Shrewsbury in mid-June 1831 and spent that summer learning geology. He made geological maps of Shropshire and visited Llanymynech and other localities. From 3–20th August he joined Sedgwick on his tour of North Wales; they geologised west of Shrewsbury before travelling through Llangollen, Ruthin, Conwy to Bangor finally reaching Anglesey. Darwin left Sedgwick at Menai and walked to Barmouth making a special visit of Cwm Idwal. He returned to Shrewsbury on 29th August to open the letter from Fitzroy inviting him to join the Beagle. During this summer Darwin gained skills in all aspects of geology, including chemical analysis, which were to prove vital in the development of his ideas on natural selection. Therefore on my return to Shropshire I examined sections Fieldwork and manuscripts and coloured a map of parts round Shrewsbury. Professor My method has been to combine geological fieldwork with Sedgwick intended to visit N.Wales…and slept at my a study of Darwin’s manuscripts. To this end I obtained father’s house…Next morning [5 August1831] we started copies of all of Darwin’s Welsh geological notes, from for Llangollen, Conway, Bangor and Capel Curig. This tour Cambridge University Library, Sedgwick’s field journals, was of decided use in teaching me a little how to make out the the maps used by both Sedgwick and Darwin, including geology of a country… We spent many hours in Cwm Sedgwick’s annotated copy of Evans’ map. Idwal… At Capel Curig I left Sedgwick and went in a straight line by compass and map across the mountains to Barmouth1 Thus Darwin described his early geological fieldwork in his Autobiography. -
Princess of Palaeontology
millennium essay Princess of palaeontology Mary Anning came from humble origins to find fame as a fossil hunter on England’s south coast. Others took credit for her discoveries but it was said of her that she understood more of the science than “anyone else in the kingdom”. Crispin Tickell his year is the bicentenary of the birth of Mary Anning of Lyme Regis. She Thas become famous first as the discov- erer — and saleswoman — of the exotic fossil creatures of the Lower Jurassic; and secondly as the prettified heroine of many children’s books, sometimes identified with she “who sells sea-shells on the sea shore”. A recent MUSEUM, LONDON HISTORY NATURAL symposium in her honour at Lyme Regis brought together palaeontologists, histori- ans and sociologists of science. Anning was the daughter of a carpenter or cabinet-maker. Although she wrote that she was illiterate, this was far from so. Her letters were clearly written, and she is said to have DEPT GEOLOGY, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WALES NATIONAL DEPT GEOLOGY, taught herself French in order to read Georges Cuvier. Her father collected and sold ‘curiosi- ties’ from the Dorset cliffs and beaches, and when he died in 1810 he left her, his son Joseph and his widow Molly the rudiments of a busi- ness. It seems to have been Joseph who uncov- ered the head of the famous ichthyosaur, which he and Mary excavated and sold. It requires a major effort of the imagina- tion to think back into the mental world of the 1820s. How did she interpret the world around her, and the place in it of the fossils she found? At one level far from hers, the concept of deep time was just beginning to take hold. -
Academic Lineage of the Earthquakes Group at Uvic “If I Have Seen Further It Is by Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” – Sir Isaac Newton
Academic lineage of the Earthquakes group at UVic “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants” – Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton, FRS University of Cambridge, 1686 Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, Cambridge Laid the foundations for classical mechanics, optics, and calculus. Defined laws for motion and universal gravity. Published ‘ Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica’ in 1687. Validated the heliocentric model of the Solar System and explained the trajectories of comets, the tides, and the precession of the equinoxes. Predicted that the Earth is an oblate spheroid. Was first to realize that colour is the result of objects interacting with light rather than objects generating the colour themselves. Made the first theoretical calculation of the speed of sound. Formulated the relationship between shear strain rate and shear stress in viscous fluids. Built the first reflecting telescope. Generalised the binomial theorem to non-integer exponents, and developed a method for approximating the roots of a function. Roger Cotes, FRS University of Cambridge, 1706 Plumian Professor of Astronomy, Cambridge Developed the Newton-Cotes formula of quadrature. Proofread Newton’s ‘Principia Mathematica’. Introduced Euler’s formula: ix = ln (cos x + i sin x). Robert Smith, FRS University of Cambridge, 1715 Plumian Professor of Astronomy, Cambridge Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. Mathematician and music theorist. Walter Taylor University of Cambridge, 1723 Regius Professor of Greek, Cambridge Mathematician. Stephen Whisson University of Cambridge, 1742 Tutor at Trinity College, Cambridge Mathematician. Thomas Postlethwaite University of Cambridge, 1756 Master of Trinity College, Cambridge Mathematician. Thomas Jones University of Cambridge, 1782 Head Tutor at Trinity College, Cambridge Mathematician. -
The Darwinian Revolution: Rethinking Its Meaning and Significance
The Darwinian revolution: Rethinking its meaning and significance Michael Ruse1 Department of Philosophy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 The Darwinian revolution is generally taken to be one of the key (a perhaps undeserved) reputation of a 3-h sermon by a Pres- events in the history of Western science. In recent years, however, byterian minister on a wet Sunday in Scotland. the very notion of a scientific revolution has come under attack, Against this, however, one can point out that the history of and in the specific case of Charles Darwin and his Origin of Species science as a professional discipline is little more than 50 years old there are serious questions about the nature of the change (if there and that you have to start somewhere. In the case of Darwin, was such) and the specifically Darwinian input. This article consid- even 30 years ago there was no real synthesis. The tragedy would ers these issues by addressing these questions: Was there a have been if historians of science had stopped there and gone no Darwinian revolution? That is, was there a revolution at all? Was further. But this is clearly not true. In the past 30 years or more, there a Darwinian revolution? That is, what was the specific staying just with the history of evolutionary thinking, there has contribution of Charles Darwin? Was there a Darwinian revolu- been a huge amount of work on people before and after Darwin, tion? That is, what was the conceptual nature of what occurred on and on his contemporaries like Thomas Henry Huxley [for and around the publication of the Origin? I argue that there was instance, Desmond (4)]. -
Darwin the Geologist
Darwin the Geologist Léo F. Laporte, Earth Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, [email protected] On January 16, 1832, shortly before Charles Darwin’s 23rd and philosophy). birthday, H.M.S. Beagle, with the young Darwin aboard, made its Darwin’s enthusi- first stop at São Tiago in the Cape Verde islands off the west coast astic interest in of Africa. Years later, Charles Darwin wrote: science impressed The geology of St. Iago is very striking yet simple: a stream of these men, for lava formerly flowed over the bed of the sea, formed of tritu- they became his rated recent shells and corals, which it baked into a hard white mentors in vari- rock. Since then the whole island has been upheaved. But the ous ways. Thus, line of white rock revealed to me a new and important fact, despite his initial namely that there had been afterwards subsidence round the antipathy for Darwin in 1840 (age 31), painted by George Richmond. From de Beer (1964, p. 116). craters, which had since been in action, and had poured forth geology, Darwin lava. It then first dawned on me that I might write a book on spent the better the geology of the countries visited, and this made me thrill part of August with delight. That was a memorable hour to me.… (Autobiogra- phy, p. 81). 1831 on a geological tour of Wales with Adam Sedgwick, who was studying the rocks that he would later define as the Cambrian Today, few people are aware that Charles Darwin System. -
Biographies of Geologists
BIOGRAPHIES OF GEOLOGISTS JOHN W. WELLS AND GEORGE W. WHITE Department of Geology, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., and Department of Geology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois Ten years ago, one of us published A list of books on the personalities of geology in this journal (vol. 47, 192-200, 1947). At the time it was noted that such a list was certainly incomplete, and the intervening years have shown that this was decidedly an understatement. Since then we have found many more such books, new ones have been published, and interested friends (especially J. V. Howell and F. S. Colliver) have suggested important additions. Only 78 biographies were included originally, and since some 132 more can now be added, it seems worthwhile to present a more complete listing, even though it is probably still incomplete. We have added brief comments on all the biographies except those few we have not been able to examine. In the original list, books of geologists' travels, histories of geology, and "miscellaneous" books were included. These are omitted here, only biographical and autobiographical books being admitted. Even with this restriction, choice in some instances has not been easy. As in the first list, we have included only items that have appeared as books, deliberately excluding all but a very, very few biographical notices, memoirs, and obituaries that were published in various journals. All those seriously interested in geology and its branches as a profession or avocation cannot fail to win something from the reading of their