Charles Moore (8 June 1815 – 8 December 1881) was a British

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Life

Charles was the third child (second son) of John Moore and his wife Sophia (née Eames) and was born at

Ilminster Ilminster is a minster town and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, with a population of 5,808. Bypassed in 1988, the town now lies just east of the junction of the A303 (London to Exeter) and the A358 (Taunton to ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, on 8 June 1815. He attended the commercial school in Ilminster from an early age until 1827, when he was removed to the free grammar school for one year. He then assisted his father in carrying on the business of printer and bookseller; also his uncle, Samuel Moore, who conducted a similar business at

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives fr ...

. About 1837, Moore appears to have gone to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, where he worked for Mr William Meyler, bookseller, at the Grand Pump Room Library in the Abbey Churchyard, adjoining the

Grand Pump Room The Grand Pump Room is a historic building in the Abbey Churchyard, Bath, Somerset, England. It is adjacent to the Roman Baths and is named for water that is pumped into the room from the baths' hot springs. Visitors can drink the water or have ...

.Bath Chronicle 23 July 1891, obituary of Richard Parsons, bookseller and colleague On his father's death in 1844 he returned to Ilminster and continued the family business, with his eldest sister for a partner, until 1853, when he returned to Bath and, relinquishing trade, devoted himself to his favourite pursuit of geology, and also to municipal affairs. He was elected a Councillor for the Lyncombe and Widcombe ward on 1 September 1868, and Alderman on 11 November 1874. He died at Bath on 8 December 1881. His wife Eliza, whom he married in 1853, was the only daughter of Mr. Deare of Widcombe. Moore's attention was first directed to geology by his accidental discovery, when a boy, of a fossil fish in a nodule; from that time he became an ardent collector, and before his second removal to Bath he had laid the foundation of the collection which, arranged by his own hands, now forms the ‘Geological Museum’ of the

Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution The Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (also known as BRLSI) is an educational charity based in Bath, England. It was founded in 1824 and provides a museum, an independent library, exhibition space, meeting rooms and a programme of ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the

Geological Society 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 ...

in 1854. In 1864 he announced at the meeting of the

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

in Bath his important discovery of the existence in England of the Rhætic Beds, which had previously been overlooked. From these beds Moore obtained at the same time twenty-nine teeth of one of the oldest known mammals (Microlestes Moorei, Owen). Moore was the author of some thirty papers on geological subjects contributed to the ''Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society'', the ''Geological Magazine'', the ''Reports of the British Association'', the ''Transactions of the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Association'', &c.

Sources

Charles Moore, by the Rev. H. H. Winwood, in ''Proceedings of the Bath Natural History Society'' (1892) vii. 232–269; information kindly supplied by the same authority; Geol. Mag. 1882, p. 94.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Charles 1815 births 1881 deaths People from Ilminster English geologists Fellows of the Geological Society of London