Harold Williams MSc PhD FRSC (14 March 1934 – 28 September 2010Remembering the late, great Hank Williams
, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, October 6, 2010.) was one of the premier field

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 ...

s in the history of Newfoundland

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

and the foremost expert on the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. An expert on the evolution and tectonic development of

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

belts, Williams advanced the theory of colliding super-continents in the 1960s and 1970s by helping to transform the notion of

continental drift Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. The idea of continental drift has been subsumed into the science of pla ...

into the theory of

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...

Background

Williams was born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and attended

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

earning a diploma in Engineering and a

B.Sc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree (1956) and a

M.Sc A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree (1958) on a Dominion Command scholarship. He earned a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1961.

Career

He thereafter joined 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 ...

(GSC), where he gained the reputation of being an expert field

and outstanding scientist. He left the GSC in 1968 and joined the faculty at

, where he was the first to receive the prestigious title of University Research Professor (1984) and the first to be appointed Alexander Murray Professor (1990). He was the first to win both the Past President’s Medal and the

Logan Medal :::''There is also a Logan Medal of the arts, awarded by the Chicago Arts Institute.'' The Logan Medal is the highest award of the Geological Association of Canada. Named after Sir William Edmond Logan, noted 19th-century Canadian geologist. It ...

of the Geological Association of Canada.

Groundbreaking work

He was elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

at age 38, a very rare accolade, and 15 years later was awarded the Miller Medal by its Academy of Science. First winner of the R.J.W. Douglas Medal of the

Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists The Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG) is a professional geological society in Canada. The CSPG works to advance the science of geology, foster professional development of members and promote community awareness of the profession. The ...

, he was also the first geoscientist to be awarded an Isaac Walton Killam Memorial Fellowship and the first scientist of any kind to hold this award for four full years. He has over 250 publications to his credit and for several years in the past three decades has been the most cited Canadian geoscientist in the world. Williams was among the first to describe the evidence for the existence of the

Iapetus Ocean The Iapetus Ocean (; ) was an ocean that existed in the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic eras of the geologic timescale (between 600 and 400 million years ago). The Iapetus Ocean was situated in the southern hemisphere, between the paleoco ...

, the predecessor of the modern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. A sampling of these rocks is preserved and protected in

Gros Morne National Park Gros Morne National Park is a National Parks of Canada, Canadian national park and World Heritage Site located on the west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland. At , it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada after To ...

of western Newfoundland, which has qualified for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site recognition under his advocacy. Williams is perhaps best known for producing the world's first tectonic lithofacies map and the first geological map of the entire

in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1978.

Awards

* Governor General's Medal, Memorial University of Newfoundland (1956) * Dominion Command Scholarship, Memorial University of Newfoundland (1956,1957) * Fellow,

(1972) * Past Presidents Medal, Geological Association of Canada (1976) * Izaak-Walton-Killam Research Fellowship (1976, 1978) * R. J. W. Douglas Medal,

, First Recipient (1980) * University Research Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland, First Recipient (1984) * Miller Medal, Royal Society of Canada (1987) *

, Geological Association of Canada (1988) * James Chair Professor,

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Franc ...

(1989) * Alexander Murray Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland (1990–1995) * Honorary Research Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland (2005–2010) * Member, Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (2017)

References

External links

Harold Williams' webpageGreat Canadian ScientistsHarold Williams
Royal Society of Canada
Harold (Hank) Williams
Canadian Mining Hall of Fame
Harold Williams
Alumnus {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Harold 1934 births 2010 deaths Canadian geologists Geological Survey of Canada personnel Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Memorial University of Newfoundland alumni Memorial University of Newfoundland faculty University of Toronto alumni Logan Medal recipients