William Henry Fitton (24 January 178013 May 1861) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

physician and amateur geologist.

Biography

Fitton was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and educated at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in that city. He gained the senior scholarship in 1798, and graduated in the following year. At this time he began to take an interest in geology and to form a collection of

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 ...

. Having adopted the medical profession, he proceeded in 1808 to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, where he attended the lectures of

Robert Jameson Robert Jameson Robert Jameson FRS FRSE (11 July 1774 – 19 April 1854) was a Scottish naturalist and mineralogist. As Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh for fifty years, developing his predecessor John ...

, and thenceforth his interest in natural history and especially in geology steadily increased. He moved to London in 1809, where he studied medicine and chemistry. In 1811 he presented to 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 ...

a description of the geological structure of the vicinity of Dublin, with an account of some rare minerals found in Ireland. He took a medical practice at

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

in 1812, and for some years the duties of his profession engrossed his time. He was admitted M.D. at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a 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. Cambridge bec ...

in 1816. In 1820, having married a lady of means, Fitton settled in London, and devoted himself to geology. His ''Observations on some of the Strata between the Chalk and the Oxford Oolite, in the South-east of England'' (Trans. Geol. Soc. ser. 2, vol. iv.) embodied a series of researches extending from 1824 to 1836, and form the memoir known as ''Fitton's Strata below the Chalk''. In this work he established the true succession and relations of the Upper and Lower Greensand, and of the Wealden and Purbeck formations, and elaborated their detailed structure. He had been elected 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 1815, and he was

president of the Geological Society of London This is a list of the presidents of the Geological Society of London. List of presidents * 1807–1813 George Bellas Greenough * 1813–1815 Henry Grey Bennet * 1815–1816 William Blake * 1816–1818 John MacCulloch * 1818–1820 George Bel ...

in 1827–1829, and to which he contributed a number of research publications. His house then became a meeting place for scientific workers, and during his presidency he held a

conversazione A ''conversazione'' is a "social gathering redominantlyheld by learned or art society" for conversation and discussion, especially about the arts, literature, medicine, and science. ::It would not be easy to devise a happier way han the ''con ...

open on Sunday evenings to all fellows of the Geological Society. From 1817 to 1841 he contributed to the Edinburgh Review many essays on the progress of geological science, and reviews of the groundbreaking books of

William Smith (geologist) William 'Strata' Smith (23 March 1769 – 28 August 1839) was an English geologist, credited with creating the first detailed, nationwide geological map of any country. At the time his map was first published he was overlooked by the scient ...

Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...

, and

Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scotland, Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigat ...

; he also wrote ''Notes on the Progress of Geology in England'' for the Philosophical Magazine (1832–1833). Another publication of note was ''A Geological Sketch of the Vicinity of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

'' (1833). 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 ...

by the Geological Society in 1852. This medal is now in the collection of the Geological Museum, Trinity College, Dublin. Around 1825, according to

Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...

's autobiography, he invented the thaumatrope, which was later commercially publicised by Dr.

John Ayrton Paris John Ayrton Paris, FRS (178524December 1856) was a British physician. He is most widely remembered as a possible inventor of the thaumatrope, which he published with W. Phillips in April 1825. Life Paris was a medical researcher of distincti ...

(to whom the invention is more usually attributed). He died in London.

Family

Fitton had three sisters, Sarah Mary, Elizabeth (fl. 1817–1834) and Susanna. Sarah and Elizabeth wrote ''Conversations on Botany,'' which influenced the popularity of botany as a field of scientific study for women.

Notes

References

*Gass, KC. 2000. Fragments of History. Specialized Quality Publications, Wisconsin Rapids, 41p. *Wyse Jackson, Patrick N. 1998. William Henry Fitton (1780–1861) and the Wollaston Medal of 1852. Geoscientist vol. 6, p. 10. Attribution: *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitton, William Henry 1780 births 1861 deaths Amateur geologists Alumni of Trinity College Dublin British geologists Irish geologists Fellows of the Royal Society Medical doctors from Dublin (city) Presidents of the Geological Society of London Wollaston Medal winners