James Ernest Richey (24 April 1886 – 19 June 1968) was an Irish-born geologist.

Life

He was born on 24 April 1886 in

Desertcreat Desertcreat is a parish and a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The civil parish of Desertcreat is in the eastern part of County Tyrone in the barony Dungannon Upper, immediately south of the parish of Derryloran, which contains the to ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

in Ireland, the son of Rev John Richey, rector of the local church. His later education was at St Columba's College near

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and he then won a place at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

studying Natural Sciences under such as

John Joly John Joly FRS (1 November 1857 – 8 December 1933) was an Irish physicist and professor of geology at the University of Dublin, known for his development of radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer. He is also known for developing techniques to ...

in 1904. He graduated BSc in 1908. Despite a clear push towards Geology he continued for a further year at Trinity College, this time studying engineering, gaining a BAI in 1909. His first employment was at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

working as a Demonstrator during the lectures of

William Johnson Sollas Prof William Johnson Sollas PGS FRS FRSE LLD (30 May 1849 – 20 October 1936) was a British geologist and anthropologist. After studying at the City of London School, the Royal College of Chemistry and the Royal School of Mines he matriculate ...

for the academic year 1910/11. He then left academia to work in the field. He joined the Scottish Geological Survey under

John Horne John Horne PRSE FRS FRSE FEGS LLD (1 January 1848 – 30 May 1928) was a Scottish geologist. He served as President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1915 to 1919. Life Horne was born on 1 January 1848, in Campsie, Stirlingshire, the ...

his initial posting being to the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...

and rapidly became the foremost authority on the geology of that island. As with most, his career was interrupted by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was commissioned in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

(Guards Division) serving in the 76th Field Company on the western front. He served in multiple battles and was wounded at least once. He won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

and was discharged in 1919 at the rank of captain. He returned to the Geological Survey of Scotland in 1922 as a Senior Geologist and became District Geologist in 1925. In 1927 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were his boss,

, Sir

John Smith Flett Sir John Smith Flett (26 June 1869 – 26 January 1947) was a Scottish physician and geologist. Early life Born in Kirkwall, Orkney, the son of James Ferguson Flett, a merchant and baillie, and Mary Ann (née Copland). He was educated at Kir ...

Murray Macgregor George Murray Macgregor FRSE (21 January 1884 – 21 January 1966) was a Scottish geologist. He was described as "Scotland's most eminent coalfield geologist." Life Macgregor was born in Glasgow to Agnes Murray and George Macgregor. He studied a ...

, and Sir

Edward Battersby Bailey Sir Edward Battersby Bailey FRS FRSE MC CB LLD (1 July 1881 – 19 March 1965) was an English geologist. Life Bailey was born in Marden, Kent, the son of Dr James Battersby Bailey and Louise Florence Carr. He was educated at Kendal grammar s ...

. He served as the society's general secretary from 1946 to 1956 and as vice president from 1956 to 1959. He won the society's Neill Prize for the period 1963–65. In 1932 he served as president of the Glasgow Geological Society. In 1933 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 ...

awarded him their

Lyell Medal The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal. This medal is awarded based on one Earth Scientist's exceptional contribution of research to the scientific ...

. In 1934 he was given an honorary doctorate (DSc). In 1938 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. He retired in 1946. He died in

Coleshill, Warwickshire Coleshill ( ) is a market town in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England, taking its name from the River Cole, on which it stands. It had a population of 6,481 in the 2011 Census and is situated east-northeast of Birmingham, ...

on 19 June 1968.

Publications

*''The Economic Geology of the Ayrshire Coalfields'' (1925) *''The Structural Relations of the Mourne Granites,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

'' (1927) *''The Geology of

Ardnamurchan Ardnamurchan (, gd, Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access ...

'' (1930) *''British Regional Geology: Scotland the Tertiary Volcanic Districts'' (1948) *''Elements of Engineering Geology'' (1964)

Family

In 1924 he married Henrietta Lily McNally.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richey, James Ernest 1886 births 1968 deaths Scientists from County Tyrone Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of Trinity College Dublin 20th-century British geologists Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Geologists from Northern Ireland Lyell Medal winners