Sir William Boyd Dawkins (26 December 183715 January 1929) was a British

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, althou ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. He was a member of the

Geological Survey of Great Britain 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 ...

, Curator of the

Manchester Museum Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. Sited on Oxford Road ( A34) at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, ...

and Professor of Geology at

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States * Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota * Owens, Missouri * Owens, Ohio * Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with the name * Ow ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. He is noted for his research on

fossils 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 in ...

and the

antiquity of man The discovery of human antiquity was a major achievement of science in the middle of the 19th century, and the foundation of scientific paleoanthropology. The antiquity of man, human antiquity, or in simpler language the age of the human race, are ...

. He was involved in many projects including a tunnel under the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

, a

Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...

attempt and the proving of coal under

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Background

Dawkins was born in Wales at

Buttington Buttington (Welsh: ''Tal-y-bont'') is a village in Powys, Wales, less than 3 km from Welshpool and about 300 m from the River Severn, in the community of Trewern. The Montgomery Canal passes through the village. The village stands on a sligh ...

Vicarage in

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

on 26 December 1837. He attracted attention at age five by collecting fossils from the local colliery spoil heaps. Soon after, his family moved into England to

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, where he attended

Rossall School Rossall School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College ...

. He again attracted attention by adding fossils from the local

boulder clay Boulder clay is an unsorted agglomeration of clastic sediment that is unstratified and structureless and contains gravel of various sizes, shapes, and compositions distributed at random in a fine-grained matrix. The fine-grained matrix consists o ...

to his earlier collection. After leaving school, he attended

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

. He graduated with a second in Classics and a first in Natural Sciences. On leaving Oxford University in 1862, he joined the

where he spent seven years working on the areas of Kent and the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Valley. In 1869, he was elected a member of the Geological Society and appointed Curator of the

, a position he held until 1890. In 1870, he took a further appointment as a lecturer at

, Manchester. eventually becoming the first Professor of Geology in 1874. Dawkins became involved with the Manchester Geological and Mining Society and was its President on three occasions: 1874–75, 1876–77 and 1886–87. He was also President of the

Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society The Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society is a historical society and registered charity founded, on 21 March 1883, for the study of any aspects of the area covered by the Palatine Counties of Lancashire and Cheshire (and succeeding local ...

from 1885 to 1887 and again from 1900 to 1902. He 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 ...

in 1867 and acted as President of the Anthropological Section of 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 ...

in 1882 and the Geological Section in 1888. He was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1880. He was President of the

Cambrian Archaeological Association The Cambrian Archaeological Association ( cy, Cymdeithas Hynafiaethau Cymru) was founded in 1846 to examine, preserve and illustrate the ancient monuments and remains of the history, language, manners, customs, arts and industries of Wales and the ...

in 1911–12 and, covering the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

years, from 1913 to 1919. Dawkins 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 for "services to geology" in the 1919 Birthday Honours. He died in 1929, aged 91.

Archaeology

Dawkins achieved many distinctions in the field of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. In 1859 he moved to

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_ ...

to study classics with the vicar of

Wookey Wookey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wells, Somerset, Wells, on the River Axe (Bristol Channel), River Axe in the Mendip District, Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton ...

. On hearing of the discovery of bones by local workmen he led excavations in the area of the hyena den at

Wookey Hole Caves Wookey is a village and civil parish west of Wells, on the River Axe in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton and the nearby hamlets of Yarley and Bleadney where the River Axe travels the length of ...

. He also excavated

Aveline's Hole Aveline's Hole is a cave at Burrington Combe in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain, 10,200 and 10,400 years old, was found at Aveline's Hole, constituting the largest a ...

, expanding its entrance and naming it after his mentor

William Talbot Aveline William Talbot Aveline (1822–1903) was a British geologist and archaeologist. He was born in Batheaston, Somerset and grew up in Wrington. When he was 18 he became assistant to Henry De la Beche working for the Geological Survey. He undertoo ...

. His work led to the discovery of the first evidence for use by Palaeolithic man in the

Caves of the Mendip Hills The caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills: large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain. Geology ...

. He spent a great deal of time researching in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, especially at

Creswell Crags Creswell Crags is an enclosed limestone gorge on the border between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, England, near the villages of Creswell and Whitwell. The cliffs in the ravine contain several caves that were occupied during the last ice age ...

and Windy Knoll near Castleton. At Windy Knoll (NGR SK126830), he proved the existence of exotic animals that lived in England prior to the

ice ages An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. With Rooke Pennington and J. Tym, he discovered bones from

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

, cave hyena,

cave bear The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ' ...

and a large cat, possibly a relative of the

sabre tooth tiger ''Smilodon'' is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely relate ...

. The bison bones were more recently dated at 37 300bp (OxA – 4579). Many of the finds are located in the museums of

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

, Derbyshire and Manchester.

Kent

In 1882, following from his work with the Geological Survey, Dawkins was appointed as the official surveyor by the Channel Tunnel Committee. He made a geological survey of the English and French coasts along the

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

and

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

areas, however the project was abandoned due to lack of money. He also participated in a scheme for a tunnel under the Humber. In 1886, the South Eastern Railway Company approached Dawkins asking him if his Channel Tunnel work had shown any coal under Kent. The finding of coal under Kent would have given the company great financial benefits. Together with Henry Willett and the French geologist Pigou, Dawkins presented a paper in 1887 proving the existence of coal under the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

deposits of Kent.

Philanthropy

Dawkins was a fighter for workers' rights especially in the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

industry. He lobbied hard to get a better education system for miners similar to the ones established in Germany. He donated undisclosed amounts of money to this cause. Among his other donations was one to the

. The museum wanted to build an extension and started an appeal. The appeal raised £1015 2s 9d, of which Dawkins donated £500. Later in life he fought for compensation for people whose homes had been affected by subsidence from the salt mines and workings near

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. On his death in 1929, his widow Lady Boyd Dawkins presented his library of some 400 works to the town of Buxton, Derbyshire. These books, together with other personal items such as a bronze bust, photographs and his Lyell and Prestwich medals, are housed at

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery __NOTOC__ Buxton Museum and Art Gallery focuses its collection on history, geology and archaeology primarily from the Peak District and Derbyshire. The museum is located at Terrace Road, Buxton, England. The museum opens Tuesday to Saturday a ...

in the Boyd Dawkins Reference Room.

Publications

Dawkins published many books and papers, but the best-known are: *1866–1939, 1962: ''British Pleistocene Mammalia''. 6 vols. London: Printed for the Palaeontographical Society (co-author with W. Ayshford Sanford, S. H. Reynolds) *1874: ''Cave Hunting''. London: Macmillan *1875: "The mammalia found at Windy Knoll", in: ''Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society''; 31, pp. 246–55 *1877: , in: ''Quarterly Journal of the Royal Society of London''; 33, pp. 724–29 (with R. Pennington) *1877: , in: ''Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society''; 33, pp. 589–612 *1879: "Further discoveries in the Creswell Crags", in: ''Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society''; 35, pp. 724–35 (with J. M. Mello) *1880: . London: Macmillan

Footnotes

Sources

*Tweedale, Geoffrey & Procter, Timothy "Catalogue of the Papers of Professor Sir William Boyd Dawkins in the John Rylands University Library of Manchester", in: ''Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester''; vol. 74, no. 2 (1992), pp. 3–36 *Tweedale, Geoffrey & Procter, Timothy (c. 1990) ''New Documentary Evidence on the Career of Sir William Boyd Dawkins FRS (1837–1929)''. Manchester: John Rylands Research Institute Scientific Archives Project *Wood, Kenneth (1987) ''Rich Seams—the history of the Manchester Geological and Mining Society''. Bolton: Manchester Geological and Mining Society *Various papers, University of Manchester,

John Rylands Library The John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a late-Victorian neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. It is part of the University of Manchester. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Enriquet ...

, Deansgate, Manchester *Various archive papers of the Manchester Geological and Mining Society

External links

*
Sheffield University – Windy Knoll Data

The papers of William Boyd Dawkins
at

Bibliography of caves, fissure and rock shelters in the North Midlands
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawkins, William Boyd 1837 births 1929 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Cambrian Archaeological Association People from Powys People from Montgomeryshire British archaeologists British geologists Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Rossall School Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Lyell Medal winners Prehistorians Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Geological Society of London Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society Manchester Museum people Presidents of the Royal Archaeological Institute