George Francis Mitchell, (15 October 1912 – 25 November 1997) was an Irish geologist and naturalist. He was generally known as Frank Mitchell.

Career

He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, the son of David William Mitchell, a merchant, and his wife Frances Elizabeth Kirkby. He was educated at the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Dublin then studied Natural Sciences at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, where he graduated BA. He was later awarded M.Sc (1935) and M.A. (1937). He became Assistant to the Professor of Geology,

Knud Jessen Knud Jessen (29 November 1884 – 14 April 1971) was a Danish botanist and quaternary geology, quaternary geologist. Biography Jessen was born at Frederiksberg, Denmark. He was a student at the University of Copenhagen and was awarded cand.m ...

, in 1934 and under his guidance carried out field studies of post-glacial sediments in Ireland. His lifetime interest, however, was in integrating the various disciplines in the study of the Irish natural environment and he developed interests in fields such as botany and archaeology. He bought

Townley Hall Townley Hall is a Georgian country house which stands in parkland at Tullyallen some 5 km west of Drogheda, County Louth in the Republic of Ireland. It was designed by Irish architect Francis Johnston for the Townley Balfour family and ...

from Trinity College and turned it into a study centre, which he personally funded and which enabled research in several different disciplines, particularly archaeological investigations at Knowth. He was elected a Fellow of Trinity College in 1944, followed by a readership in Irish Archaeology and then appointed to the Chair of Quaternary Studies in 1965.

Honours and awards

George_Francis_Mitchell_plaque_in_the_Museum_Building,_TCD_02

He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

in 1973. He was awarded the

Boyle Medal Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

of the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

in 1978Boyle Medal Laureates

and the

Cunningham Medal The Cunningham Medal is the premier award of the Royal Irish Academy. It is awarded every three years in recognition of "outstanding contributions to scholarship and the objectives of the Academy". History It was which was established in 1796 at ...

of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...

in 1989. He was President of the Royal Irish Academy for 1976–79, of the

Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is a learned society based in Ireland, whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquit ...

for 1957–60, of

An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established in June 1948, is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the areas of the environment and built heritage in Ireland. It considers itself t ...

for 1991–93 and of the International Quaternary Association for 1969–73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, George Francis 1912 births 1997 deaths Scientists from Dublin (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Fellows of the Royal Society 20th-century Irish historians People associated with Trinity College Dublin