Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor, OBE, FRS (18 September 1880 – 24 May 1954), was a British chemist and geologist and the first president of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Academ ...

and a director of the

Geological Survey of India The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...

(1930-1935). His son was the writer and traveller Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor.

Early life

Fermor was born in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

south London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, the eldest of six children born to Lewis Fermor and Maria (née James); his middle name was given in honour of his father's best friend. His father was a clerk at the London Joint Stock Bank (acquired by the

Midland Bank Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...

in 1917); his early retirement through ill health put the family in financial difficulties, and a subsequent attempt at setting up a sign-writing business met with little success.Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure, Artemis Cooper, John Murray, 2012 Lewis Leigh Fermor was educated at

Wilson's Grammar School Wilson's School is a state boys' grammar school with academy status in the London Borough of Sutton, England. It was founded as Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell in 1615, making it one of the country's oldest state schools. The school move ...

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

and studied

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

at the

Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...

, with scholarships at each, and winning the Murchison medal for geology at the latter, where he took a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in 1907 and

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

in 1909. He was too old to accept an exhibition that he won at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

Career

Fermor was initially interested in continuing a career in metallurgy but was persuaded to apply to the Geological Survey of India by his professor, John Wesley Judd. The interview was by W. T. Blanford, then retired, and he was selected despite his expertise in chemistry rather than geology. Blanford may have seen the value of his expertise for the study of crystalline archaean rocks and Fermor would indeed later work extensively on petrology. He arrived in India in 1902, having accepted a position as assistant superintendent in the

. He was one of the founders of geology in India. His major interest was in Archaean geology, and in

igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...

and

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...

rocks. He was curator of the geology collection at the

Indian Museum The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...

from 1905 to 1907. He did important work on deposits of manganese and coal, and he was awarded a

Doctorate of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

by London University in 1909. He first described the mineral

Hollandite Hollandite (chemical formula: Ba(Mn4+6Mn3+2)O16) is an oxide mineral. It is the barium-manganese (III) endmember of the coronadite group. A mineral, with the chemical composition BaMn4+6Fe3+2O16, that was first found in the Kajlidongri mine in ...

in 1906 and the mineral Fermorite, discovered in 1910, is named after him. He became a superintendent in the Geological Survey of India in 1910, and was awarded an OBE for his work for the

Indian Railway Board The Ministry of Railways is a ministry in the Government of India, responsible for the country's rail transport. The ministry operates the statutory body Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport and is h ...

and then the Indian Munitions Board during the First World War. In 1921 he was awarded the

Bigsby Medal The Bigsby Medal is a medal of the Geological Society of London established by John Jeremiah Bigsby. It is awarded for the study of American geology. Recipients SourcThe Geological Society See also * List of geology awards * Prizes named after ...

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 ...

for a paper published in 1913 on the use of

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...

as a geological

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

, as a marker of the pressures to which rocks had been subjected. He was a founder member of the Mining and Geological Institute of India, and its president in 1922. After several periods as acting director, he was director of the Geological Survey of India from 1932 to 1935. He was a Trustee of the Indian Museum from 1930 to 1935, president of the 20th session of the

Indian Science Congress Indian Science Congress Association(ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January. It has a ...

in 1933, became 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 ...

in 1934, and he was knighted by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 1935. He was president of the

Asiatic Society of Bengal The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

from 1933 to 1936, and the first elected president of the National Institute of Sciences of India in 1935. After retiring as director of the Geological Survey of India in 1935, he continued to live and work mainly in India until 1939, also visiting Kenya and South Africa. He continued to contribute to learned societies, and also worked as a geological consultant for private businesses. He was president of the Bristol Naturalists' Society in 1945, and vice-president of the

from 1945 to 1947.

Private life

Fermor married Muriel Eileen (or Aeyleen) Ambler, ten years his junior, in 1909. Her grandfather was

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

(William) James Ambler on HMS ''Bellerophon'' when

Napoléon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

surrendered to it. Their son,

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greates ...

(1915–2011), was raised and educated in England and did not visit his father in India; he later became well known for his travel writing. After he separated from his first wife, he married Frances Mary Case in 1933. He died in

Horsell Horsell is a village in the borough of Woking in Surrey, England, less than a mile north-west of Woking town centre. In November 2012, its population was 9,384. Horsell is integral to H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel ''The War of the W ...

near

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

in Surrey, survived by his second wife, and his son and daughter from his first marriage.

References

External links

Obituary of Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor
from the Proceedings of the

Indian Academy of Sciences The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meet ...

, Vol.23 (Sept. 1954), p. 285–286. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh Fermor, Lewis 1880 births 1954 deaths 20th-century British geologists Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Wilson's School, Wallington Presidents of The Asiatic Society People from Peckham