Dr William Fraser Hume FRSE (1867–1949) was a British geologist specialising in Egypt.

Life

He was born in Cheltenham in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 1 October 1867 the son of George Hume. He received his early education in

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and at College Galliard in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

in Switzerland. He then attended the Royal College of Science and Royal College of Mines in the

University of London 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 ...

under John Wesley Judd graduating BSc around 1887. He began lecturing at the Royal College of Science in 1890 and received a doctorate (DSc) in 1893. In 1897, he moved to Egypt to assist with a huge geological survey of the whole country and in 1909 became Director of the entire Geological Survey of Egypt. In 1910, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were

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, Sir John Smith Flett and

James Ireland James Ireland (4 December 1846 – 29 June 1886) was a short-lived but productive 19th-century Scottish architect, specialising in schools. Life He was born on 4 December 1846 at Hawkhill Place in Dundee the son of George Ireland and his wife ...

. During 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 ...

he advised on water supply to the British Army in Egypt and the Middle East. He was awarded the

Lyell Medal The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal. This medal is awarded based on one Earth Scientist's exceptional contribution of research to the scientific ...

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 1919. He served as President of the Royal Geographical Society of Egypt 1926 to 1940 and President of the Institute of Egypt in 1928. He retired in 1927 and returned to England to Sussex around 1930 and died there on 23 February 1949. He is buried in

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...

Cemetery.

Publications

*''Rift Valleys and Geology of the Eastern Sinai'' (1901) *''The Topography and Geology of the Peninsula of Sinai'' (1906) *''Report on the Oilfield Region of Egypt'' (1916) *''Geology of Egypt'' (1925) *''Phosphate Deposits in Egypt'' (1927)

Family

He married Ethel Gladys Williams.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hume, William Fraser 1867 births 1949 deaths Scientists from Cheltenham Alumni of the University of London British geologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Lyell Medal winners