![Phillips John geologist](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Phillips_John_geologist.jpg)
John Phillips
FRS (25 December 1800 – 24 April 1874) was an English
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, althoug ...
. In 1841 he published the first global
geologic time scale
The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochr ...
based on the correlation of fossils in rock strata, thereby helping to standardize terminology including the term
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
, which he invented.
Life and work
Phillips was born at
Marden in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. His father belonged to an old
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
family, but settled in England as an officer of excise and married the sister of
William Smith, a renowned English geologist. When both parents died when he was a child, Phillips's custody was assumed by Smith and Phillips was brought into Smith's London home during early 1815. During the next few years he attended various schools and helped his uncle with his geological research and writing; he also developed an interest in lithography (printing from prepared slabs of stone), and was among the earliest English practitioners of the process, experimenting with it between about 1816 and 1819. After ending school, Phillips accompanied Smith on his wanderings in connection with his preparation of geological maps. During the spring of 1824 Smith went to
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
to deliver a course of lectures on geology, and his nephew Phillips accompanied him. Phillips accepted engagements in the principal
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
towns to arrange their museums and give courses of lectures on the collections contained therein. York became his residence, and he obtained during 1826 the situation of keeper of 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 Soc ...
and secretary of the
Yorkshire Philosophical Society
The Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS) is a charitable learned society (charity reg. 529709) which aims to promote the public understanding of the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the archaeology and history of York and Yorkshire.
...
at the same time as
Henry Robinson was Librarian of the YPS.
From that centre Phillips extended his operations to towns beyond the county, and by 1831 he included
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
within the sphere of his activity. During that year the
British Association for the Advancement of Science was initiated at York, and Phillips was one of the people who organized it. He became the first assistant secretary in 1832, a job which he had until 1859. In 1834 he accepted the professorship of geology at
King's College London, but retained his job at York.
In 1834 Phillips was elected a fellow of the
Royal Society
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 ...
. During later years he received honorary degrees of LL.D. from
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
, and D.C.L. from
Oxford
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 ...
; while in 1845 he was awarded the
Wollaston Medal
The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London.
The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of gold (1831–1845), ...
by 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 ...
. In 1840 he resigned his charge of the York museum and was appointed to the staff of the geological survey of Great Britain managed by
Henry De la Beche
Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche KCB, FRS (10 February 179613 April 1855) was an English geologist and palaeontologist, the first director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, who helped pioneer early geological survey methods. He was the ...
. Phillips spent some time studying the
Palaeozoic fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s of
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, Cornwall and West
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, of which he published a descriptive memoir
in 1841. During that same year, he published the first global
geologic time scale
The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochr ...
, which ordered rock strata according to the types of fossils found within. This helped standardize the usage of the terms
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
period, which he extended to a longer period than it had had by previous usage, and
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
period, the latter being his own invention. He also made a detailed survey of the region of the
Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit aff ...
, of which he prepared the elaborate account that appears in vol. ii. of the Memoirs of the Survey (1848). In 1844 he became professor of geology for the
University of Dublin.
![John Phillips (geologist)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/John_Phillips_%28geologist%29.jpg)
Nine years later, on the death of
Hugh Edwin Strickland
Hugh Edwin Strickland (2 March 1811 – 14 September 1853) was an English geologist, ornithologist, naturalist and systematist. Through the British Association, he proposed a series of rules for the nomenclature of organisms in zoology, known as ...
, who had acted as substitute for
Dean Buckland in the readership of geology in the University of Oxford, Phillips succeeded to the post of deputy. At the dean's death in 1856, Phillips became himself reader, a post which he had to the time of his death. During his residence in
Oxford
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 ...
he had a major part in the foundation and arrangement of the
University Museum
A university museum is a repository of collections run by a university, typically founded to aid teaching and research within the institution of higher learning. The Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford in England is an early example, o ...
established in 1859 (see his ''Notices of Rocks and Fossils in the University Museum'', 1863; and ''The Oxford Museum'', by H. W. Acland and
J. Ruskin, 1859; reprinted with additions 1893). Phillips was also keeper of the
Ashmolean Museum from 1854 until 1870. During 1859–1860 he was president of the Geological Society of London, and during 1865 president of the British Association. Phillips also made astronomical observations of the
planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
during its 1862
opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
.
On 23 April 1874, he dined at
All Souls College
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
, but on leaving he slipped and fell down a flight of stone stairs. He died the next day, and was buried in
York Cemetery, beside his sister
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
and his benefactor
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his '' Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,'' published in 1751.
G ...
. His coffin was accompanied to Oxford's railway station by 200 university academics.
Craters on Mars and the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
are named after him.
Selected writings
![John Phillips](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/John_Phillips.JPG)
The first paper Phillips published was ''On the Direction of the Diluvial Currents in Yorkshire'' (1827). He contributed to the ''
Philosophical Magazine
The ''Philosophical Magazine'' is one of the oldest scientific journals published in English. It was established by Alexander Tilloch in 1798;John Burnett"Tilloch, Alexander (1759–1825)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford Univer ...
'', the ''
Journal of the Geological Society
The ''Journal of the Geological Society '' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Geological Society of London. It covers research in all aspects of the Earth sciences.
References
External links
* Proceedings of the Geologica ...
'', and the ''
Geological Magazine
The ''Geological Magazine'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1864, covering the earth sciences. It publishes original scientific research papers on geological topics. The journal is published bimonthly by Cambridge University ...
''. He was also the author of separate works, including:
*''Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire'' (in two parts, 1829 and 1836; 2nd ed. of pt. 1 in 1835; 3rd ed., edited by R. Etheridge, in 1875
Part 1Part 2Full text of the 1829 edition at Archive.org*''A Treatise on Geology'' (1837–1839)
Vol IVol II*
Memoirs of William Smith' (1844);
''The Rivers, Mountains and Sea-Coast of Yorkshire''(1853);
*''Manual of Geology, Practical and Theoretical'
Part IPart II1855);
''Life on the Earth: its Origin and Succession''(1860);
*''
Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma- stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...
'' (1869);
*
Geology of Oxford and the Valley of the Thames' (1871).
To these should be added his ''Monograph of British Belemnitidae'' (1865), for the Palaeontographical Society, and his geological map of the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
(1847). His manuscript notebook describing his early experiments with lithography was published by the Printing Historical Society in 2016.
Blue plaque
![John Phillips FRS (33396073161)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/John_Phillips_FRS_%2833396073161%29.jpg)
In February 2016 a
blue plaque commemorating John Phillips was erected on the side of St. Mary's Lodge (in
York Museum Gardens
The York Museum Gardens are botanic gardens in the centre of York, England, beside the River Ouse. They cover an area of of the former grounds of St Mary's Abbey, and were created in the 1830s by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society along wit ...
), where Phillips lived in the mid-19th Century.
The plaque, dedicated by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society,
York Civic Trust
York Civic Trust is a membership organisation and a registered charity based in York, UK. Its primary function is to "preserve, protect and advise on the historic fabric of York". It is based in Fairfax House.
Foundation
York Civic Trust was fo ...
and
York Museums Trust
York Museums Trust (YMT) is the charity responsible for operating some key museums and galleries in York, England. The trust was founded in 2002 to run York's museums on behalf of the City of York Council. It has seen an increase in annual foo ...
reads: "John Phillips FRS, 1800-1874, Geologist. Yorkshire Philosophical Society Officer and first Keeper of the Yorkshire Museum lived here between 1839 and 1853."
References
*
pdf
;Attribution
*
External links
*
''Map of the principal features of the geology of Yorkshire''(1853) - full digital facsimile at
Linda Hall Library
The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...
''Geology of Oxford and the valley of the Thames, by John Phillips''(1871) - full digital facsimile at
Linda Hall Library
The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...
''John Phillips's lithographic notebook: reproduced in facsimile from the original at Oxford University Museum of Natural History'' edited by
Michael Twyman
Michael Twyman (born 1934) is a Professor Emeritus of the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading. He joined the university staff in 1959. He established a BA (Hons) course in Typography & Graphic Communicati ...
.
Printing Historical Society The Printing Historical Society or 'PHS' is a learned society devoted to the study of the history of printing, in all its forms.
History
The Society was founded in London in 1964 by a group of teachers, scholars, students of design and bibliography ...
, 2016.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, John
1800 births
1874 deaths
People from Wiltshire
19th-century British astronomers
English geologists
Fellows of the Royal Society
Academics of King's College London
Accidental deaths from falls
Accidental deaths in England
Fellows of the Geological Society of London
Wollaston Medal winners
English people of Welsh descent
People associated with the Ashmolean Museum
Members of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society
Burials at York Cemetery, York
Writers about Yorkshire