Murchison Medal
Encyclopedia
An award established by Roderick Murchison
, who died in 1871. One of the closing public acts of Murchison’s life was the founding of a chair of geology and mineralogy in the University of Edinburgh
. Under his will there was established the Murchison Medal and geological fund (The Murchison Fund
) to be awarded annually by the council of the Geological Society of London
. The first Medal was awarded in 1873.
Roderick Murchison
Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet KCB DCL FRS FRSE FLS PRGS PBA MRIA was a Scottish geologist who first described and investigated the Silurian system.-Early life and work:...
, who died in 1871. One of the closing public acts of Murchison’s life was the founding of a chair of geology and mineralogy in the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. Under his will there was established the Murchison Medal and geological fund (The Murchison Fund
The Murchison Fund
The Murchison Fund is an award given by the Geological Society of London to researchers under the age of 40 who have contributed substantially to the study of hard rock and tectonic geology. It is named in honour of Prof. Roderick Impey Murchison.-Recipients:...
) to be awarded annually by the council of the Geological Society of London
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
. The first Medal was awarded in 1873.
Murchison medalists
- 1873 William DaviesWilliam Davies-Politicians:*William Davies , Georgia-based politician and lawyer*William Davies , British Member of Parliament for Pembrokeshire, 1880–1892*William T...
- 1874 John Jeremiah BigsbyJohn Jeremiah BigsbyJohn Jeremiah Bigsby , English geologist and physician, the son of Dr. John Bigsby, was born at Nottingham on the 14th of August 1792....
- 1875 William Jory HenwoodWilliam Jory HenwoodWilliam Jory Henwood FRS , Cornish mining geologist, was born at Perran Wharf, Cornwall.In 1822 he commenced work as a clerk in an office of the Perran Foundry, owned by the Fox family of Falmouth, a post previously held by his father, John Henwood....
- 1876 Alfred Richard Cecil SelwynAlfred Richard Cecil SelwynAlfred Richard Cecil Selwyn, CMG, LL.D, FRS, FGS was a British geologist, director of the Geological Survey of Victoria from 1852–1869, director of Geological Survey of Canada 1869–1894 and President of the Royal Society of Canada 1895-1896.-Early life:Selwyn was born in Kilmington, Somerset,...
- 1877 William Branwhite ClarkeWilliam Branwhite ClarkeWilliam Branwhite Clarke, FRS was an English geologist and clergyman, active in Australia.-Early life and England:...
- 1878 Hans Bruno GeinitzHans Bruno GeinitzHanns Bruno Geinitz was a German geologist, born at Altenburg, the capital of Saxe-Altenburg.He was educated at the universities of Berlin and Jena, and gained the foundations of his geological knowledge under Friedrich August von Quenstedt. In 1837 he took the degree of Ph.D. with a thesis on the...
- 1879 Frederick McCoyFrederick McCoySir Frederick McCoy, KCMG, FRS was an Irish palaeontologist and museum administrator, active in Australia.-Early life:McCoy was the son of Dr Simon McCoy, M.D. and was born in Dublin; some sources have his year of birth as 1823, but 1817 is the most likely...
- 1880 Robert EtheridgeRobert EtheridgeRobert Etheridge was an English geologist and palaeontologist.-Biography:Etheridge was born at Ross-on-Wye, in Herefordshire. After an ordinary school education in his native town, he obtained employment in a business house in Bristol...
- 1881 Archibald GeikieArchibald GeikieSir Archibald Geikie, OM, KCB, PRS, FRSE , was a Scottish geologist and writer.-Early life:Geikie was born in Edinburgh in 1835, the eldest son of musician and music critic James Stuart Geikie...
- 1882 Jules Gosselet
- 1883 Heinrich Robert GoeppertHeinrich Göppert' was a German botanist and paleontologist. He was born in Sprottau, Lower Silesia, and died at Breslau. In 1831 he became a professor of botany, as well as curator of the botanical gardens in Breslau...
- 1884 Henry WoodwardHenry Woodward (geologist)Henry Bolingbroke Woodward was an English geologist.He became assistant in the geological department of the British Museum in 1858, and in 1880 keeper of that department. He became FRS in 1873, LL.D in 1878, president of the Geological Society of London...
- 1885 Ferdinand von RoemerFerdinand von RoemerCarl Ferdinand von Roemer , German geologist, had originally been educated for the legal profession at Göttingen, but became interested in geology, and abandoning law in 1840, studied science at the University of Berlin, where he graduated Ph.D...
- 1886 William Whitaker
- 1887 Peter Bellinger BrodiePeter Bellinger BrodiePeter Bellinger Brodie was an English geologist and churchman, the son of the conveyancer Peter Bellinger Brodie and nephew of Sir Benjamin C. Brodie. He was born in London in 1815...
- 1888 John Strong NewberryJohn Strong NewberryJohn Strong Newberry was a American geologist, physician, explorer, author, and a member of the Megatherium Club at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C....
- 1889 James GeikieJames GeikieJames Geikie was a Scottish geologist.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of James Stuart Geikie and younger brother of Sir Archibald Geikie...
- 1890 Edward HullEdward Hull (geologist)Edward Hull , M.A., L.L.D., F.R.S., a geologist and stratigrapher, held the position of Director of theGeological Survey of Ireland. He was also a professor of geology in the Royal College of Science, Dublin. His dates are listed in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.He was born in...
- 1891 Waldemar Christofer Brøgger
- 1892 Alexander Henry GreenAlexander Henry GreenAlexander Henry Green FRS was an English geologist.Born at Maidstone, he was the son of the Rev. Thomas Sheldon Green, master of the Ashby Grammar School...
- 1893 Osmond FisherOsmond FisherReverend Osmond Fisher was an English geologist and geophysicist....
- 1894 William Talbot AvelineWilliam Talbot AvelineWilliam Talbot Aveline was a British geologist and archaeologist.He was born in Batheaston, Somerset and grew up in Wrington. When he was 18 he became assistant to Henry De la Beche working for the Geological Survey...
- 1895 Gustaf LindstromGustaf LindströmGustaf Lindström was a Swedish paleontologist.He was born in Visby on Gotland. In 1848 he entered Uppsala University, and in 1854 he took his doctor's degree...
- 1896 Thomas Mellard Reade
- 1897 Horace Bolingbroke WoodwardHorace Bolingbroke WoodwardHorace Bolingbroke Woodward was a British geologist who participated in the Geological Survey of England and Wales. President of the Geological Society. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1896....
- 1898 Thomas Francis Jamieson
- 1899 Benjamin Neeve Peach
- 1899 John HorneJohn HorneJohn Horne was a Scottish geologist. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1900. He was a pupil of Ben Peach....
- 1900 (Nils) Adolf Erik NordenskioldAdolf Erik NordenskiöldFreiherr Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld , also known as A. E. Nordenskioeld was a Finnish baron, geologist, mineralogist and arctic explorer of Finnish-Swedish origin. He was a member of the prominent Finland-Swedish Nordenskiöld family of scientists...
- 1901 Alfred John Jukes-BrowneAlfred John Jukes-BrowneAlfred John Jukes-Browne, FRS FGS was a British invertebrate palaeontologist and stratigrapher.He was born Alfred John Browne near Wolverhampton in 1851 to Alfred Hall and Caroline Amelia Browne. His uncle was the geologist Joseph Beete Jukes, well known for his work on the English and Irish...
- 1902 Frederic William Harmer
- 1903 Charles Callaway
- 1904 George Alexander Louis Lebour
- 1905 Edward John DunnEdward John DunnEdward John Dunn was an Australian geologist, winner of the 1905 Murchison Medal.-Early life:Dunn was born at Bedminster near Bristol, England, the son of Edward Herbert Dunn and his wife Betsy, née Robinson. The family emigrated to New South Wales in 1849, initially living near Goulburn, New...
- 1906 Charles Thomas Clough
- 1907 Alfred HarkerAlfred Harker (petrologist)Alfred Harker FRS was an English geologist who specialised in petrology and interpretive petrography. He worked for the Geological Survey of Scotland and conducted extensive surveying and geological studies of western Scotland and the Isle of Skye...
- 1908 Albert Charles SewardAlbert Charles SewardAlbert Charles Seward FRS was a British botanist and geologist.-Life:His first education was at Lancaster Grammar School and then on to St. John's College at Cambridge following his parents' wish to dedicate his life to the Church...
- 1909 Grenville Arthur James Cole
- 1910 Arthur Philemon ColemanArthur Philemon ColemanArthur Philemon Coleman was a Canadian geologist and academic.-Biography:Born in Lachute, Quebec, the son of Rev. Francis Coleman and Emmeline Maria Adams , he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1876 and Master of Arts in 1880 from Victoria College in Cobourg, Ontario. He received a Ph.D...
- 1911 Richard HillRichard HillRichard Hill may refer to:* Richard Hill , Bishop of London and Archdeacon of Lewes* Richard Hill , Catholic priest and martyr* Richard Hill , British contemporary composer...
- 1912 Louis DolloLouis DolloLouis Antoine Marie Joseph Dollo was a French-born Belgian palaeontologist, known for formulating Dollo's law. He graduated as an engineer at École Centrale de Lille in France. In 1878, he supervised the excavation of the famous, multiple Iguanodon find, at Bernissart, Belgium. Recently, the...
- 1913 George BarrowGeorge BarrowGeorge Barrow was a British geologist.Barrow matriculated at London University in 1871, holding a Turner scholarship. Admitted to King's College London, he studied science, winning prizes in mathematics and geology. He was the first to map a metamorphic gradient by determining a sequence of...
- 1914 William Augustus Edmond Ussher
- 1915 William Whitehead WattsWilliam Whitehead WattsWilliam Whitehead Watts was a British geologist. He was born at Broseley and educated at Denstone College, and at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, of which he was a fellow in 1888–94, and he was also an extension lecturer of the university in 1882–91...
- 1916 Robert KidstonRobert KidstonRobert Kidston FRS was a Scottish palaeobotanist. He studied botany at the University of Edinburgh and later studied the Rhynie chert and worked for the British Geological Survey....
- 1917 George Frederick MatthewGeorge Frederick MatthewGeorge Frederick Matthew was a Canadian botanist and geologist. Described as an amateur geologist, he is nevertheless recognized for his work in the then-nascent field of ichnology. His work grew from study of Cambro-Ordovician rocks near his birthplace, leading to the description of new genera...
- 1918 Joseph Burr Tyrrell
- 1919 Gertrude Lilian Elles
- 1920 Ethel Mary Reader Shakespear
- 1921 Edgar Sterling Cobbold
- 1922 John William EvansJohn William Evans (geologist)John William Evans was a British geologist. Evans was president of the Geological Society of London 1924-6. He received its Murchison Medal in 1922....
- 1923 John JolyJohn JolyJohn Joly FRS was an Irish physicist, famous for his development of radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer...
- 1924 Walcot GibsonWalcot GibsonWalcot Gibson was a British geologist. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1925 and won the Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London in 1924.-References:...
- 1925 Herbert Henry ThomasHerbert Henry ThomasHerbert Henry Thomas FRS was a British geologist who linked the bluestones at Stonehenge with rocks in south west Wales. He won the Murchison Medal....
- 1926 William Savage Boulton
- 1927 George Thurland PriorGeorge Thurland PriorGeorge Thurland Prior FRS was a British mineralogist. He made great contribution on mineralogical chemistry and petrology, and on meteorites....
- 1928 Jakob Johannes Sederholm
- 1929 Charles Alfred MatleyCharles Alfred MatleyCharles Alfred Matley was a British paleontologist and geologist in India, the British West Indies and Wales.He married Sarah A. Loach in Birmingham in 1891....
- 1930 Arthur Lewis Hall
- 1931 George Walter TyrrellGeorge Walter TyrrellGeorge Tyrrell was born in 1883, Hanwell Middlesex, son of George and Annie.George Tyrrell was a lecturer in Geology at Glasgow University from 1913-1948. George worked as an Honorary Research Fellow beginning in 1949....
- 1932 William George FearnsidesWilliam George FearnsidesWilliam George Fearnsides FRS was a British geologist....
- 1933 Alexander Logie du Toit
- 1934 George Hickling
- 1935 Edward Battersby BaileyEdward Battersby BaileySir Edward Battersby Bailey FRS was an English geologist.Bailey was born in Marsden, Kent, and educated at Kendal grammar school and Clare College, Cambridge. He gained first-class honours in both parts one and two of the natural sciences tripos...
- 1936 Ernest Edward Leslie Dixon
- 1937 Leonard James SpencerLeonard James SpencerLeonard James Spencer CBE FRS was a British geologist. He was an Honorary member of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, and also a recipient of its Bolitho Medal. He was president of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland from 1936 to 1939...
- 1938 Henry Howe BemroseHenry Howe BemroseSir Henry Howe Bemrose was a British printer and publisher, as well as mayor and later Conservative Member of Parliament for Derby.-Life:...
- 1939 Harold JeffreysHarold JeffreysSir Harold Jeffreys, FRS was a mathematician, statistician, geophysicist, and astronomer. His seminal book Theory of Probability, which first appeared in 1939, played an important role in the revival of the Bayesian view of probability.-Biography:Jeffreys was born in Fatfield, Washington, County...
- 1940 Arthur HolmesArthur HolmesArthur Holmes was a British geologist. As a child he lived in Low Fell, Gateshead and attended the Gateshead Higher Grade School .-Age of the earth:...
- 1941 Murray MacGregor
- 1942 Henry Hurd SwinnertonHenry Hurd SwinnertonHenry Hurd Swinnerton was a British geologist. He was professor of geology at University College Nottingham from 1910 to 1946. ....
- 1943 Alfred Brammall
- 1944 Vincent Charles Illing
- 1945 Walter Campbell SmithWalter Campbell SmithWalter Campbell Smith , later formally Campbell-Smith, was a British mineralogist and petrologist....
- 1946 Leonard HawkesLeonard HawkesLeonard Hawkes FRS was a British geologist.-External links:* http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=910&inst_id=11...
- 1947 Percy EvansPercy EvansPercy Stanbrook Evans was a Chinese-born English cricketer who played five first-class games for Worcestershire in 1928....
- 1948 James Phemister
- 1949 Ernest Masson Anderson
- 1950 Tom EastwoodTom EastwoodTom Eastwood was an English composer.He is the son of General Sir Thomas Ralph Eastwood and Lady Mabel Vivian Temperley Eastwood.Tom Eastwood was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge University...
- 1951 William Bernard Robinson King
- 1952 William James Pugh
- 1953 Frank Dixey
- 1954 Kenneth Arthur Davies
- 1955 Cyril James StubblefieldCyril James StubblefieldSir James Stubblefield FRS was a British geologist. Stubblefield was the President of the Geological Society of London from 1958 to 1960 and was the Director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain from 1960 until 1966.-Early life:...
- 1956 Frederick Murray Trotter
- 1957 Henry George Dines
- 1958 Robert George Spencer HudsonRobert George Spencer HudsonRobert George Spencer Hudson was an English Geologist and Paleontologist. He was born in Rugby, Warwickshire, the eldest son of Robert Spencer Hudson....
- 1959 Sydney Ewart HollingworthSydney Ewart HollingworthSydney Ewart Hollingworth was a British geologist....
- 1960 Archibald Gordon MacGregor
- 1961 Wilfrid Edwards
- 1962 Errol Ivor White
- 1963 Norman Leslie Falcon
- 1964 George Hoole Mitchell
- 1965 Walter Frederick WhittardWalter Frederick WhittardWalter Frederick Whittard was professor of geology at Bristol. He received the Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London in 1965....
- 1966 Kingsley Charles DunhamKingsley Charles DunhamSir Kingsley Charles Dunham FRS was one of the leading British geologists and mineralogists of the 20th century. He was a Professor of Geology at the University of Durham from 1950-71. He was later Professor Emeritus from 1967-2001...
- 1967 Thomas Stanley WestollThomas Stanley WestollThomas Stanley Westoll, FRS FRSE, FGS was the long-time head of the Department of Geology at Newcastle University.-Education and career:He was born in West Hartlepool and educated at the local grammar school...
- 1968 Gilbert Wilson
- 1969 Percy Edward KentPercy Edward KentPercy Edward Kent PhD, DSc, LLD, ScD, FGS, FRS was a British geologist who won the Royal Medal in 1971.-Early life:...
- 1970 Robert Millner ShackletonRobert Millner ShackletonRobert Millner Shackleton FRS was a British field geologist who developed an interest in the geology of East Africa...
- 1971 Basil Charles King
- 1972 Stephen Robert NockoldsStephen Robert NockoldsStephen Robert Nockolds, FRS was a geochemist, petrologist and winner of the Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London....
- 1973 Alwyn WilliamsAlwyn Williams (geologist)Sir Alwyn Williams Kt, FRS, FRSE, MRIA, FGS was a Welsh geologist, who was Principal of the University of Glasgow from 1976 to 1988, and President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1985 to 1988.-Early life:...
- 1974 William Alexander DeerWilliam Alexander DeerWilliam Alexander Deer was a British geologist.He was an Honorary Fellow of St John's College and Trinity Hall Cambridge, Professor of Mineralogy and Petrology at the University of Cambridge from 1961, Master of Trinity Hall from 1966 to 1975, and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University from 1971...
- 1975 John Sutton
- 1976 Robert Andrew Howie
- 1977 Martin Harold Phillips BottMartin BottMartin Harold Phillips Bott FRS is an English geologist and now Emeritus Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Durham University, England.He is a Vice-President of Christians in Science...
- 1978 Stephen Moorbath
- 1979 Wallace Spencer PitcherWallace Spencer Pitcher-Career:Pitcher was born in London and became interested in fossils in childhood. At 17 he started work as an assistant assayer, attending college part-time to study for a degree in Chemistry and Geology at Chelsea College, London, graduating after war service in 1947.Professor Herbert Harold Read...
- 1980 Joseph Victor Smith
- 1981 George Malcolm BrownGeorge Malcolm BrownSir George Malcolm Brown, FRS was one of the most respected geologists of the second half of the Twentieth century...
- 1982 Derek Flinn
- 1983 Michael John O'Hara
- 1984 James Christopher Briden
- 1985 Brian Frederick Windley
- 1986 Keith Gordon CoxKeith CoxKeith Gordon Cox FRS was a British geologist and academic at the University of Oxford. He had a particular interest in flood basalts and was regarded as one of the leading experts in this area.-Life and career:...
- 1987 Charles David CurtisCharles David CurtisCharles David Curtis is a British geologist. From 1992 to 1994, he served as President of the Geological Society of London. He is Emeritus Professor of Geochemistry at the University of Manchester and has been the Head of Research and Development Strategy, Radioactive Waste Management...
- 1988 Ian Graham GassIan Graham GassIan Graham Gass, FRS, geologist, was Professor of Earth Sciences and Head of Discipline at the Open University, Milton Keynes and he was President of the IAVCEI . He was married to Mary Pearce ....
- 1989 Anthony Seymour Laughton
- 1990 Johnson Robin Cann
- 1991 Michael Robert House
- 1992 Ian William Drummond Dalziel
- 1993 Anthony Brian Watts
- 1994 Jorn Thiede
- 1995 Ian Stuart Edward Carmichael
- 1996 Robert Arbuckle Berner
- 1997 Bernard John Wood
- 1998 (Robert) Stephen (John) SparksSteve Sparks (volcanologist)Robert Stephen John Sparks, FRS, CBE , is Chaning Wills Professor of Geology in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. He is one of the world's leading volcanologists and has been widely recognised for his work in this field.-Career:Steve Sparks is a graduate of Imperial...
- 1999 David Gubbins
- 2000 David Headley Green
- 2001 Juan WattersonJuan WattersonJuan Paul Watterson MHK BA ACA is a Manx politician, who is a Member of the House of Keys for Rushen, in the Isle of Man., He is currently the youngest MHK in the House of Keys.-Early life:...
- 2002 David PriceDavid Price-Military:*David Price , East India Company officer and orientalist*David Price , British Rear Admiral at the Siege of Petropavlovsk- Politics :...
- 2003 Alexander Norman Halliday
- 2004 Philip England Philip EnglandPhilip Christopher England is an English geophysicist and whose research centres upon the evolution, deformation and metamorphism of mountain ranges and the development of island arcs...
- 2005 Christopher Scholz
- 2006 Brian Kennett
- 2007 Herbert HuppertHerbert HuppertHerbert Eric Huppert is an Australian-born geophysicist living in Britain. He has been Professor of Theoretical Geophysics and Foundation Director, Institute of Theoretical Geophysics, Cambridge University, since 1989 and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, since 1970.He was born and received...
- 2008 Mike Searle
- 2009 David Kohlstedt
- 2010 Randall Parrish
- 2011 Bruce Watson