George Frederick Matthew (August 12, 1837 – April 14, 1923) was a Canadian

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and

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 ...

. 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 The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

rocks near his birthplace, leading to the description of new genera and species of

ichnofossil A trace fossil, also known as an ichnofossil (; from el, ἴχνος ''ikhnos'' "trace, track"), is a fossil record of biological activity but not the preserved remains of the plant or animal itself. Trace fossils contrast with body fossils, ...

s. His early interest in geology may have been inspired by local access to the

Abraham Gesner Abraham Pineo Gesner, ONB (; May 2, 1797 – April 29, 1864) was a Canadian physician and geologist who invented kerosene. Gesner was born in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia (now called Chipmans Corner) and lived much of his life in Saint John, New Bru ...

geological collection. Matthew was the first curator of the Natural History Society of New Brunswick. After Canada's

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

in 1867, his geological work came to prominence as the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; french: Commission géologique du Canada (CGC)) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the en ...

began, and he worked part-time for the survey. He received honorary doctorates from

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxemb ...

and the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

, and was awarded 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 ...

Murchison Medal The Murchison Medal is an academic award established by Roderick Murchison, who died in 1871. First awarded in 1873, it is normally given to people who have made a significant contribution to geology by means of a substantial body of research and ...

in 1917.

Publications

* 1871. ''On the surface geology of New Brunswick ''. 19 pp. * 1882. ''Illustrations of the fauna of the St. John group microform''. 21 pp. Trans. Royal Soc. Canada. * 1894. ''Post-glacial faults at St. John, N. B.'' * 1898. ''A paleozoic terrain beneath the Cambrian''. Ann. NY Academy of Sci., v. 12, Nº 2 * 1903. ''On batrachian and other footprints from the Coal Measures of Joggins, N.S''. Bull. Natural History Soc. New Brunswick 5: 103-108 * 1903. ''An attempt to classify Palaeozoic batrachian footprints''. Proc.Trans. Royal Soc. Canada, 2ª ser. 9(4): 109-121 * 1903. ''New genera of batrachian footprints of the Carboniferous System in eastern Canada''. Canadian Record of Science 9: 99-111 * 1904. ''Note on the genus Hylopus of Dawson''. Bull. Natural History Soc. New Brunswick 5: 247-252 * 1904. ''New species and a new genus of batrachian footprints of the Carboniferous System in eastern Canada''. Proc. Royal Soc. of Canada, 2ª ser. 10 (sect. iv): 77-122 * 1909. ''Remarkable forms of the Little River Group''. Trans. Royal Society of Canada, 3ª ser. 1909-1910, III (sect. iv): 113-133

References

* Miller, William (2007). ''Trace fossils: concepts, problems, prospects''. Elsevier; pp. 21–23.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthew, George Frederick Canadian geologists 19th-century Canadian botanists Canadian curators Geological Survey of Canada personnel 1837 births 1923 deaths 20th-century Canadian botanists