Henry Benedict Medlicott

Henry Benedict Medlicott
Members of the Geological Survey of India, 1870: F. Stoliczka, R. B. Foote, W. Theobald, F. R. Mallet, V. Ball, W. Waagen, W. L. Willson (standing); A. Tween, W. King, T. Oldham, H. B. Medlicott, C. A. Hackett (sitting)

Henry Benedict Medlicott (3 August 1829 - 6 April 1905) was an Irish geologist who worked in India.

Early life

He was born in Loughrea, County Galway, Ireland, the son of the Church of Ireland Rector of Loughrea, Samuel Medlicott (1796–1858) and his wife Charlotte (c.1814-1884), daughter of Henry Benedict Dolphin, C. B. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin as well as in France, Guernsey, and Dublin. He obtained a BA in 1850 with diploma in honours in the School of Civil Engineering and an MA in 1870. He was an expert in French and was acquainted with the works of the French geologists.[1]

Career and later life

He joined the Geological Survey of Ireland in 1851 and in 1853 joined the British Geological Survey working with Mr Aveline in Wiltshire. He was later engaged by Dr. Thomas Oldham and joined the Indian Geological Survey that was working in the Rajmahal Hills near Bhagalpur. In August 1854 left England for India where he became professor of geology at the University of Roorkee and remained there until October 1862. While at Roorkee, he studied parts of the Narmada Valley and Bundelkhand (in 1854-55, 1856–57). He worked on the geology of the Lower Himalayas and the Siwalik Beds. In 1857 he served as a volunteer with the garrison of Roorkee against the mutineers and was awarded the Indian Mutiny Medal for Special Service.

On October 27, 1857 he married Louisa Maunsell in Landour. Louisa was the daughter of the Reverend Daniel Henry Maunsell, Vicar of Balbriggan, County Dublin. He has had three sons and three daughters.

He worked initially with his brother Joseph G. Medlicott and his first achievement was in separating the Cambrian Vindhyan region from the Gondwana. He worked in various parts of the country such as South Rewa, Bihar, Assam, Khasi Hills, Rajputana, Kashmir, the Satpura ranges and the Garo Hills. On 1 April 1876 he succeeded Dr Oldham to head the Department of Geology and was posted in Calcutta. The position was changed from Superintendent to Director in 1885. He is credited with having suggested the name Gondwana for the supercontinent in the year 1872.[2]

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1877 and won the Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society in 1888. He was a Fellow of Calcutta University, and from 1879 to 1881 he was President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. His obituarist Blanford notes that he never used "FRS" after his name in any publications.[1]

He wrote Manual of the Geology of India with William Thomas Blanford in 1879 as well as edited works in the Paleontologica Indica.

References

  1. ^ a b Blanford, W. T (1907) Obituary Notices of Fellows Deceased. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character. 79(535):i-xxxvii+xxxviii-lxiii. (This obituary is accompanied by the obituary of the author)
  2. ^ DeWit, M., M. Jeffrey, H. Bergh, and L. Nicolaysen. 1999. “Gondwana reconstruction and dispersion.” Search and Discovery Article 30001. American Assoc. of Petroleum Geologists.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Henry Benedict Medlicott — (* 3. August 1829 in Loughrea, County Galway, Irland; † 6. April 1905) war ein irischer Geologe, der in Indien arbeitete. Erziehung Henry Benedict Medlicott war der Sohn von Samuel Medlicott (1796–1858), Rektor der Church of Ireland in Loughrea,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Henry Benedict Medlicott — (3 août 1829 6 avril 1905) est un géologue britannique. Il étudie à Dublin au Trinity College. Il travaille au levé géologique d Irlande en 1851 puis à celui de Grande Bretagne en 1853. En 1854 il est transféré en Inde et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William Thomas Blanford — (October 7, 1832 ndash; June 23, 1905) was an English geologist and naturalist.Blanford was born in London. He was educated in private schools in Brighton and Paris, and with a view to the adoption of a mercantile career spent two years in a… …   Wikipedia

  • Wollaston Medal — Die Wollaston Medaille ist eine Auszeichnung, die von der Geological Society of London an Wissenschaftler für besondere Leistungen im Bereich der Geologie verliehen wird. Benannt ist die Medaille nach dem englischen Chemiker William Hyde… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wollaston Medal — The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London.The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of palladium, a metal… …   Wikipedia

  • Wollaston-Medaille — Die Wollaston Medaille ist eine Auszeichnung, die von der Geological Society of London an Wissenschaftler für besondere Leistungen im Bereich der Geologie verliehen wird. Benannt ist die Medaille nach dem englischen Chemiker William Hyde… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Medaille Wollaston — Médaille Wollaston La médaille Wollaston est une récompense scientifique dans le domaine de la géologie. C est la plus haute distinction décernée par la Geological Society of London. La médaille est nommée d après William Hyde Wollaston, qui l a… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Médaille Wollaston — La médaille Wollaston est une récompense scientifique dans le domaine de la géologie. C est la plus haute distinction décernée par la Geological Society of London. La médaille est nommée d après William Hyde Wollaston, qui l a instaurée en 1831.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Medalla Wollaston — La Medalla Wollaston es un premio científico para la geología, el premio más alto concedido por la Geological Society of London (Sociedad Geológica de Londres). La medalla lleva el nombre de William Hyde Wollaston (famoso químico inglés del siglo …   Wikipedia Español

  • 1888 en science — Années : 1885 1886 1887  1888  1889 1890 1891 Décennies : 1850 1860 1870  1880  1890 1900 1910 Siècles : XVIIIe siècle  XIXe si …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”