Sir Kingsley Charles Dunham (2 January 1910 – 5 April 2001) was one of the leading British geologists and mineralogists of the 20th century. He was a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

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 ...

at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

from 1950–71. He was later

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

from 1967–2001. He was director of the

British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. The BGS h ...

from 1967–75.

Early life

Dunham was born in Sturminster Newton,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and moved at an early age with his family to

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. He attended the

Durham Johnston School Durham Johnston Comprehensive School is a secondary school in Durham, England. Introduction Durham Johnston is a 1700-place 11–18 school serving Durham City and communities beyond to the south and west. It is situated on Crossgate Moor, on ...

(then a Grammar School) and then won a Foundation Scholarship to

Hatfield College, Durham , motto_English = Either the first or with the first , scarf = , named_for = Thomas Hatfield , established = , senior_tutor = , master = Ann MacLarnon (2017–) , undergraduates = 1010 (2017/18) , postgradu ...

, graduating with a first-class degree in Geology in 1930 at a time when

Arthur Holmes Arthur Holmes (14 January 1890 – 20 September 1965) was an English geologist who made two major contributions to the understanding of geology. He pioneered the use of radiometric dating of minerals, and was the first earth scientist to grasp ...

was professor. A gifted musician, Dunham was

Organ Scholar An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at a cathedral, church or institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and adm ...

during his undergraduate days. Following graduation, he pursued research into the Pennine Orefield of the

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, under the supervision of

. He graduated with a PhD in 1932 on the subject of Ore deposits of the north Pennines.

Career

Dunham studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

under a Commonwealth Fund Fellowship, which led to a master's degree. He returned to the UK as a geologist for the

, working on the iron ores of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

. This came in useful during the Second World War where he was involved in the investigation of the mineral resources of the

. This work was later published in the classic volume, ''The Geology of the North Pennine Orefield''. Dunham returned to

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

in 1950 as

of Geology. During his tenure he supervised the drilling of the Rookhope borehole discovering, as predicted by his colleague

Martin Bott Martin Harold Phillips Bott (12 July 1926 – 20 October 2018) was a British geologist and Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Durham, England. Education Bott was educated at Clayesmore School in Dorset and ...

, the presence of a concealed

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

underlying the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

. He was created a Fellow of

St John's College, Durham St John's College is a University of Durham#Colleges, college of the University of Durham, United Kingdom. It is one of only two "recognised colleges" of the university, the other being St Chad's College, St Chad's. This means that it is financial ...

. In 1967, his career culminated in accepting the directorship of the

, and like his time at Durham, he successfully guided that institution through a period of rapid growth into areas such as geophysics, oceanography and geochemistry. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in 1972. Following retirement in 1975, Dunham again returned to Durham as

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

, publishing further work on the

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

of the

Honours

Kingsley Dunham received many honours. He was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

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 ...

in 1955 (and also served on its council) and received its

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...

in 1970. He was President of the Yorkshire Geological Society between 1958–59, and was awarded the Sorby Medal of that Society in 1963. In 1973, he gave the presidential address to the

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

meeting in Canterbury. Dunham also received

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from more than ten universities, both at home and abroad. 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), t ...

of 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 1976. Between 1990 and 2012, the British Geological Survey's headquarters complex, in

Keyworth Keyworth is a large Village of Nottinghamshire, England. It is located about 6 miles (11 km) southeast of the centre of Nottingham. It sits on a small, broad hilltop about 200 feet above sea level which is set in the wider undulating bould ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, was named the ''Kingsley Dunham Centre'' in his honour. (It is now the Environmental Science Centre.) The relocation and consolidation of the BGS's various, disparate branches to the Keyworth site was one of the lasting legacies of Dunham's time as Director. The Centre opened in 1976, shortly after Dunham's retirement.

Later life

In his later years his eyesight failed him until he was totally blind. However, he still attended the weekly Durham meetings (aided by his friend and colleague Dr Tony Johnson), held by the Arthur Holmes society. Dunham's son, Ansel, who predeceased him, was Professor of Geology at the University of Hull and the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

References

External links

Durham University: Department of Earth Sciences

Geological Society of London

Royal Society of London

British Geological Survey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunham, Kingsley Charles 1910 births 2001 deaths People from Sturminster Newton People from Durham, England Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham Academics of Durham University 20th-century British geologists Fellows of the Royal Society Harvard University faculty Harvard University alumni Knights Bachelor English classical organists British male organists Presidents of the British Science Association Royal Medal winners Wollaston Medal winners 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians Male classical organists