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William Buckland Learning more... William Buckland William Buckland He obtained his BA degree in 1804 and William Buckland continued in residence, supporting himself on was one of the his scholarship and by taking pupils. greatest geologists of Buckland’s early friendship with William his time; a man of Broderip, who came up to Oxford in 1807, was great energy, he was described thus by their contemporary, the University’s first Roderick Murchison: “The study of the Reader in Geology. collection made by his juvenile companion … This article gives an first awakened the dormant talent of overview of his life Buckland … So strongly did Buckland feel in and work, including after years the deep obligations he was under to young Broderip, that I have myself heard an account of his William Buckland, 1832 description of him speak of the latter as his ‘tutor in The hyaena skull in his 2 Megalosaurus, the hands is currently on display Geology’.” first named dinosaur. in the Museum. Although he never neglected his Child and student 1784-1808 formal studies, William Buckland was Buckland also born in Axminster, found time to Devon, on 12 March 1784, enlarge his the eldest son of Charles scientific know- Buckland, Rector of ledge, attending Corpus Christi College, Oxford Templeton and Trusham, the lectures of John and his wife Elizabeth. Kidd on mineralogy and chemistry and those “The first cause of Dr. The Axminster of Christopher Pegge on anatomy. During the Buckland’s attention to coat-of-arms vacations he searched for the field evidence fossil organic remains was the fact, that near which was then being brought together in his birthplace at Axminster were large order to establish the geological succession of quarries of lias, abounding in fossil organic strata in England. In 1808 he obtained his MA remains. His father … took great interest in degree and was made a Fellow of his college; the improvement of roads, &c., and was he was ordained priest the same year. accustomed to take his son with him on his walks; from the above-mentioned quarries both father and son collected Ammonites, and What is ‘Learning more’? other shells, which thus became familiar to ‘Learning more’ presents a series of articles the lad from his infancy.” 1 about the Museum and its collections. It is At first Buckland was educated at home under designed for older students, teachers, his father’s instruction, and at Axminster researchers, and anyone who wants to find School, but in 1797 he entered Blundell’s out more about particular aspects of the school in Tiverton, in order to receive a better Museum’s work and its history. preparation for university entrance. A year This article gives an account of the life and later he moved to St Mary’s College, work of William Buckland, the geologist, Winchester, where he progressed well enough cleric and eccentric. through the narrow formal education, ‘Learning more’ articles are free, and continuing to develop his interest in natural available to all for educational, non-profit history in his spare time. In 1801, with the purposes. Unless otherwise stated, the help of some coaching from his uncle, he won Museum retains copyright of all material a scholarship to Corpus Christi College, used in this leaflet. Oxford, and thus began his Oxford career. © Oxford University Museum of Natural History Page 1 Learning more... William Buckland The charismatic lecturer 1809-1818 long showcase ... He had in his hand a huge From 1808 to 1812 hyaena’s skull. He suddenly dashed down the Buckland made frequent steps - rushed skull in hand at the first geological excursions on undergraduate on the front bench and horseback to various parts shouted ‘What rules the world?’ The youth, of England, Scotland, terrified, threw himself against the next back Ireland and Wales. “He seat, and answered not a word. He rushed rode a favourite old black then on to me, pointing the hyaena full in my mare, who was frequently face - ‘What rules the world?’ ‘Haven’t an caparisoned all over with idea’, I said. ‘The stomach, sir’, he cried (again heavy bags of fossils and One of Buckland’s mounting the rostrum) ‘rules the world. The ponderous hammers. The geological lectures, great ones eat the less, the less the lesser old mare soon learnt her duty, 1823 still.’” 4 and seemed to take interest in her master’s Buckland also had responsibilities in the pursuits; for she would remain quiet without museum on the upper floor of the Ashmolean, anyone to hold her, while he was examining as he himself explained, “being [unofficial] sections and strata, and then patiently submit Curator of the Collection and shewman of it, to be loaded with interesting but weighty or private lecturer to every stranger, foreign specimens. Ultimately she became so or domestic, that comes to Oxford … I have accustomed to her work, that she eventually also to shew hospitality to such strangers and came to a full stop at a stone quarry, and to hold constant correspondence and nothing would persuade her to proceed until exchanging of specimens with foreigners of all the rider had got off and examined (or, if a countrys … also to give private instruction to stranger to her, pretended to examine) the young men travelling abroad, or relating to 3 quarry.” their own property at home.” 5 At the same In 1813 Kidd resigned as time, he was continually adding to his own Reader of Mineralogy, large collection of rocks, minerals and fossils, and Buckland was which he kept in his rooms in Corpus. appointed his successor, In 1816 Buckland began taking up residence on his European tours, the ground floor of the which would eventually Old Ashmolean building take him to Germany, in Broad Street (now the Poland, Austria, Italy, Museum of the History of The Old Ashmolean Switzerland and France. Building Science). From the outset, In the course of his Buckland sought to introduce travels, he brought to the increasing amounts of geology and museum large and palaeontology into his lectures, which were valuable collections, and always well-attended, not only by students but to the geologists of A field trip to Shotover also by senior members of the university. By England observations of all accounts, the lectures were very lively phenomena then little known to them. He also events, with liberal use of specimens, and of became acquainted with other European large-scale geological maps and diagrams. scientists. In 1818 Georges Cuvier visited him Buckland’s own colourful personality also in Oxford and was shown a collection of contributed to the popularising of his lectures. enormous bones from Stonesfield. These Henry Acland, as a student, attended bones were later recognised as those of the Buckland’s lectures and described his dinosaur Megalosaurus, and would form the lecturing style thus: “He paced like a basis of one for the most important scientific Franciscan preacher up and down behind a papers of Buckland’s career. © Oxford University Museum of Natural History Page 2 Learning more... William Buckland Reader in Geology 1819-1824 Flood being no more than to cover bones already present with a layer of mud. In 1818 Buckland persuaded the Prince Regent to endow By 1823 the account had been expanded into a a second Readership, this full-scale treatise on Buckland’s cavern time in Geology, which he research, Reliquiae Diluvianae, or, could hold in addition to his Observations on the Organic Remains mineralogical appointment. attesting the Action of a Universal Deluge, in He delivered his inaugural which he argued that the remains of animals address on 15 May 1819; it found in caves provide clues as to the was subsequently published inhabitants and character of the earth before in 1820 under the title of the Great Flood recorded in Genesis. The Vindiciae Geologiae; or the The Noachian Flood book sold rapidly, and recognition of Connexion of Geology with Religion Buckland’s achievement was widespread. explained. The aim of the lecture was to justify Despite his success, the inclusion of the new science of geology financial remuneration for alongside the established studies of the Buckland’s work remained University, but the compatibility of geological modest and, for the evidence with biblical accounts of Creation moment, he continued to and the Noachian Flood was also addressed. live in college. Roderick Buckland set out the facts as he saw them, Murchison thus describes noting clear evidence for a universal deluge, a visit paid to Buckland’s and introducing the hypothesis that the word rooms in the winter of “beginning” as used in Genesis expressed an 1824-5: “On repairing Paviland Cave, undefined period of time between the origin of from the Star Inn to South Wales the earth and the creation of its current Buckland’s domicile in inhabitants, a period during which a long Corpus Christi College, I can never forget the series of revolutions had occurred with scene which awaited me. Having, by direction successive creations of new plant and animal of the janitor, climbed up a narrow staircase, I groups. entered a long corridor-like room … which For the next few years, was filled with rocks, shells and bones in dire Buckland was busy confusion, and in a sort of sanctum at the end developing his under- was my friend in his black gown looking like a standing of the supposed necromancer, sitting on the one only rickety deluge, as seen in his 1822 chair not covered with fossils, and cleaning 6 account of the fossil bones out a fossil bone from the matrix.” (elephant, rhinoceros, Buckland enters In 1824 Buckland became hippopotamus, horse, ox, Kirkdale Cave President of the Geological deer, hyaena, tiger, bear, wolf, fox, rodents Society, and it was at his and birds) found at Kirkdale Cave in first meeting in this office Yorkshire.
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