George Barrow (11 December 1853 – 23 July 1932) 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 ...

. Barrow was born in

St George Hanover Square St George Hanover Square was a civil parish created in 1724 in the Liberty of Westminster, Middlesex, which was later part of the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish accompanied the building of St George's, Hanove ...

, London, the fifth of eight children born to John George Barrow, a general practitioner at the Royal College of Surgeons, and his wife, Eleanor Barrow. Barrow matriculated at London University in 1871, holding a Turner scholarship. Admitted to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, he studied science, winning prizes in mathematics and geology. He was the first to map a

metamorphic gradient In geology, a metamorphic zone is an area where, as a result of metamorphism, the same combination of minerals occur in the bedrock. These zones occur because most metamorphic minerals are only stable in certain intervals of temperature and pressu ...

by determining a sequence of

metamorphic zone In geology, a metamorphic zone is an area where, as a result of metamorphism, the same combination of minerals occur in the bedrock. These zones occur because most metamorphic minerals are only stable in certain intervals of temperature and press ...

s in the metapelites of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

. Every first appearance of an

index mineral An index mineral is used in geology to determine the degree of metamorphism a rock has experienced. Depending on the original composition of and the pressure and temperature experienced by the protolith (parent rock), chemical reactions between mine ...

was taken by Barrow as the beginning of a new metamorphic zone. Later the underlying principles of metamorphic zones were clarified by the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

geologist

Pentti Eskola Pentti Elias Eskola (8 January 1883 – 6 December 1964) was a Finnish geologist who specialised in the petrology of granites and developed the concept of metamorphic facies. He won the Wollaston Medal in 1958, the Vetlesen Prize in 1964, and w ...

, who introduced the concept of

metamorphic facies A metamorphic facies is a set of mineral assemblages in metamorphic rocks formed under similar pressures and temperatures.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak The assemblage is typical of what is formed in conditions corresponding ...

. Barrow was awarded the Bolitho Medal of the

Royal Geological Society of Cornwall The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in the world ...

in 1912. He died in

Chorleywood Chorleywood is both a village and a civil parish in the Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire, on the border with Buckinghamshire, approximately northwest of Charing Cross. The village is adjacent to the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Na ...

, Hertfordshire.''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995'' The Barrow Award of the

Mineralogical Society of Great Britain & Ireland The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland began in 1876. Its main purpose is to disseminate scientific knowledge of the Mineral Sciences (mineralogy) as it may be applied to the fields of crystallography, geochemistry, petrology, envi ...

for contributions to metamorphic geology is named in his honour.

References

Selected publications

* * * * * British geologists 1853 births 1932 deaths Alumni of King's College London Scientists from London Presidents of the Geologists' Association {{UK-geologist-stub