John Horne

PRSE 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 ...

FRS

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FEGS LLD (1 January 1848 – 30 May 1928) was a Scottish geologist. He served as President 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 ...

from 1915 to 1919.

Life

Horne was born on 1 January 1848, in Campsie,

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

, the son of Janet (''née'' Braid) and James Horne of Newmill, a farmer. He was educated at the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, Glasgow, and the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

where he studied under Lord Kelvin. He left university without graduating at the age on 19. In 1867 he joined the Scottish Branch of HM Geological Survey as an assistant and became an apprentice to

Ben Peach Benjamin Neeve Peach (6 September 1842 – 29 January 1926) was a British geologist. Life Peach was born at Gorran Haven in Cornwall on 6 September 1842 to Jemima Mabson and Charles William Peach, an amateur British naturalist and geologist. ...

. The two soon became good friends and collaborators. Horne was involved in mapping the

Central Lowlands The Central Lowlands, sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley, is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and t ...

. Horne was a logical thinker and writer, complementing Peach's skills of resolving the internal structure of mountains by looking at the surface rocks. Thia approach allowed them to resolve a long-running debate on the "Highlands Controversy" in the 1907 publication of ''

The Geological Structure of the North-West Highlands of Scotland The Highlands controversy was a scientific controversy which started between British geologists in the middle of the nineteenth century concerning the nature of the stratum, rock strata in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The debate became c ...

''. After their work in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

, Horne and Peach wrote 'Northwest Highlands Memoir' in 1907. The work is regarded as one of the most important geological memoirs. Horne wrote most of the memoir himself. From 1901 until 1911, John Horne was the Director of the Scottish Branch of the Survey. Horne was elected a Fellow of the

in 1881, upon the proposal of Sir Archibald Geikie, Sir Charles Wyville Thomson,

Peter Tait Peter Tait may refer to: * Peter Tait (physicist) (1831–1901), Scottish mathematical physicist * Peter Tait (footballer) (1936–1990), English professional footballer * Peter Tait (mayor) (1915–1996), New Zealand politician * Peter Tait (radio ...

and Robert Gray, and won the Society's Neill Prize for 1889-92. Horne was very active in the affairs of the RSE and served as Councillor (1902-5; 1906-7; 1914–15), Vice-President (1907–13) and President (1915-19). Horne was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of London Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics ...

in 1900 and was a Fellow of the

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

. He also served as President of the

Edinburgh Geological Society The Edinburgh Geological Society (EGS) was founded in 1834 in Edinburgh, Scotland, with the aim of stimulating public interest in geology and the advancement of geological knowledge. It was a time of debate and controversy surrounding the emergi ...

. In later life he lived at 12 Keith Crescent in

Blackhall, Edinburgh Blackhall is a suburb in the north west of the Scottish capital city Edinburgh. It is a mainly residential area with amenities including a library and a small number of shops. Geography Most of the housing in the neighbourhood was construc ...

. He died on 30 May 1928 in Edinburgh.

Family

He was married to Anna Leyland Taylor (d. 1926). He was grandfather to the psychologist Thomas Arthur Munro.

Recognition

A monument to the work of Peach and Horne was erected at

Inchnadamph Inchnadamph is a hamlet in Assynt, Sutherland, Scotland. The name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic name Innis nan Damh meaning 'meadow of the stags'. Assynt is a remote area with a low population density. Inchnadamph contains a few houses, a l ...

, close to the

Moine Thrust The Moine Thrust Belt or Moine Thrust Zone is a linear tectonic feature in the Scottish Highlands which runs from Loch Eriboll on the north coast south-west to the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye. The thrust belt consists of a series of t ...

where they did some of their best-known work. The inscription reads: "To Ben N Peach and John Horne who played the foremost part in unravelling the geological structure of the North West Highlands 1883-1897. An international tribute. Erected 1930.".

References

External links

profile
at www.scottishgeology.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Horne, John 1848 births 1928 deaths People from Stirling People educated at the High School of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Presidents of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Scottish geographers Scottish geologists Wollaston Medal winners

Life

Family

Recognition

See also

References

External links