John-Clay Purves MD (30 January 1825–26 July 1903) was a British geologist and museum curator.

Biography

Purves initially qualified in medicine at the University of Edinburgh before joining the army and travelling as an army doctor. He had spent a couple of years working for the Geological Survey in Scotland before joining the

Yorkshire Museum The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy. History The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soci ...

in 1878. He was initially employed as a temporary assistant to the museum before being made permanent Keeper following the death of the sub-curator Henry Baines. He resigned this post in 1880 following his appointment to the Geological Survey of Belgium. In his subsequent geological career he is attributed with naming the

Namurian The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma (million years ago). It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Namurian is ...

; a

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

in the regional

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigrap ...

of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma (million years ago).

Publications

*PURVES, J.C., 1881. 'Sur la délimitation et la constitution de l’étage houiller inférieur de la Belgique'. ''Bulletin de l’Académie royale de Belgique'', Classe des Sciences, 3° série, 2: 514–568. *PURVES, J.C., 1883. 'Terrain houiller'. In: Dupont, E. ; Mourlon, M. & Purves, J.C., ''Explication de la feuille de Natoye''. Musée royal d’Histoire naturelle, Explication de la Carte géologique du Royaume: 1–50

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purves, John-Clay 1825 births British geologists British curators 1903 deaths Yorkshire Museum people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society People from Coldstream