Archibald Lamont (21 October 1907 – 16 March 1985) was a Scottish geologist,

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Scottish Nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and Scottish national identity, national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish ...

writer, poet and politician. He named the

trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the ...

genus '' Wallacia'' after

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army ...

Life

Born on 21 October 1907 at Ardbeg Villa, Ardbeg,

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

, Bute, the son of Barbara Mathie and lawyer John McNab Lamont OBE. He was educated at

Port Bannatyne Port Bannatyne ( gd, Port MhicEamailinn) is a coastal village on the Isle of Bute, Firth of Clyde, Scotland that is home to many steamers. Port Bannatyne developed into the 1900s as a quieter and more unusual alternative to Rothesay. It is a pop ...

School and Rothesay Academy (1918–25). He studied science at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

graduating with an MA in 1928, a BSc in 1932 and, specialising in geology at postgraduate level, gained a doctorate (PhD) in 1935. He was active in the

Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association The Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association (GUSNA) is a student organisation formed in 1927 at the University of Glasgow which supports Scottish independence. History GUSNA is important historically as it predated many pro-independ ...

and wrote extensively for the University magazine, under various pseudonyms. In the 1950s, he was active in the Scottish National Congress. He began his academic career as assistant lecturer in 1936 and during the same year married Rose Bannatyne Mackinlay with whom he fathered a son they named Patrick John Coll Lamont. In 1944 he became lecturer in geology at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

and was then appointed Carnegie Research Fellow at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

(1945–55). Lamont was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 6 March 1950, upon the proposal of Sir Edward B Bailey,

Arthur Holmes Arthur Holmes (14 January 1890 – 20 September 1965) was an English geologist who made two major contributions to the understanding of geology. He pioneered the use of radiometric dating of minerals, and was the first earth scientist to grasp ...

, John G C Anderson and Frederick William Anderson. He was also a Fellow of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

, and a member of the

Edinburgh Geological Society The Edinburgh Geological Society (EGS) was founded in 1834 in Edinburgh, Scotland, with the aim of stimulating public interest in geology and the advancement of geological knowledge. It was a time of debate and controversy surrounding the emergi ...

and the

Geological Society of Glasgow The Geological Society of Glasgow is a scientific society devoted to the study of geology in Scotland. The society contributed to the understanding of Scotland's glacial history, and the relationship between the Earth's rotation and climate ch ...

. Archie retired from teaching at the age of 38 in order to live alone at Jess cottage in the village of

Carlops Carlops ( gd, Leum na Caillich) is a small village in the Pentland Hills, within the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, close to the boundary with Midlothian. It lies between West Linton and Penicuik. The village was founded in 1784 and develope ...

, situated in the Pentland Hills, SW of Penicuik, Midlothian. He died on 16 March 1985.

The trilobite ''Wallacia''

Named for the famed Scottish knight, Sir William Wallace, '' Wallacia'' Lamont 1978 is a monophyletic group of late

Llandovery Llandovery (; cy, Llanymddyfri ) is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and west of Brecon. Hi ...

and, exceptionally, earliest Wenlock encrinurine trilobites from the Baltic area, the British Isles, and Canada. ''Wallacia'' is regarded as sister taxon to ''

Encrinurus ''Encrinurus'' is a long-lived genus of phacopid trilobites that lived in what are now Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America from the middle Ordovician to the early Devonian from 472 to 412.3 mya, existing for appr ...

'' sensu stricto and includes at least ten named species. RAMSKOLD, L. and EDGECOMBE, G. D. 1994. Revision of the Silurian encrinurine trilobite ''Wallacia'' Lamont 1978, with species from Gotland and Canada. ''Paläontologische Zeitschrift'' 68 (1): 89 - 115. DOI: 10.1007/BF02989435

References

* Royal Society of Edinburgh Year Book, 1986, 190 - 1. 1907 births 1985 deaths People from Rothesay, Bute Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Geological Society of London Scottish geologists Scottish journalists Scottish nationalists Scottish palaeontologists Scottish political writers Scottish Renaissance 20th-century Scottish writers {{Scotland-academic-bio-stub