Sir Joseph Prestwich, FRS (12 March 1812 – 23 June 1896) 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 businessman, known as an expert on the Tertiary Period and for having confirmed the findings of

Boucher de Perthes Boucher may refer to: * Boucher (surname), a family name (including a list of people with that name) * Boucher Manufacturing Company, an American toy company *'' R. v. Boucher'', a 1951 Supreme Court of Canada decision that overturned a conviction ...

of ancient flint tools in the Somme valley gravel beds.

Biography

Born in Clapham, Prestwich was educated in Paris and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

before entering University College, London where he studied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

and natural philosophy. Whilst a student he founded the short-lived Zetetical Society. In 1830 he began working for the family wine business. This job required him to travel throughout the United Kingdom and also abroad to France and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, and during the course of these travels he made many geological observations. He became a Fellow of

Geological Society 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 1833 and published his first paper there two years later. His 1836 memoir on the ''Geology of

Coalbrookdale Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge. This is where iron ore was first ...

'', based upon observations made during 1831 and 1832, established his reputation as a geologist. From 1846 his attention focused upon the

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

deposits of the London Basin, which he subsequently classified and then correlated with Tertiary deposits throughout England, France and Belgium. In 1858 Prestwich was persuaded by Hugh Falconer to visit

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

, where

had claimed to have found flint tools in the gravel deposits of the valley of the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

, thus establishing the antiquity of man. In company with John Evans, Prestwich visited the gravel beds of

St Acheul Saint-Acheul is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is not to be confused with Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens after which the Acheulean archaeological culture of the Lower Paleolithic is named. Geogr ...

and confirmed the observations of Boucher de Perthes. Prestwich's report on the matter was published in the ''

Proceedings of the Royal Society ''Proceedings of the Royal Society'' is the main research journal of the Royal Society. The journal began in 1831 and was split into two series in 1905: * Series A: for papers in physical sciences and mathematics. * Series B: for papers in life s ...

'' for 1859-1860: It is claimed by some authorities that this publication marks the birth of modern scientific

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 landsc ...

During the late 1860s Prestwich served on the

Royal Coal Commission Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, ...

and the

Royal Commission on the Metropolitan Water Supply Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, ...

. In 1870–1872 he was president of the Geological Society. In 1874 he was appointed to the chair of geology at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Here he produced in two volumes ''Geology, Chemical and Physical, Stratigraphical and Palaeontological''. In 1888 he retired from Oxford to Shoreham in

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 ...

where he continued to work until his death in 1896. Prestwich 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 1853, awarded its

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...

in 1865, awarded a Telford Medal for a paper entitled “On the Geological Conditions affecting the Construction of a Tunnel between England and France,” in 1873. He was elected as a member of 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 1869. Knighted in 1896. He married Grace Anne McCall, the niece of Dr. Hugh Falconer, in 1870.

Notes

References

* "Obituary Notices of Fellows Deceased", ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', Volume 60. (1896—1897), pp. ''i—xxxv''.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prestwich, Joseph 1812 births 1896 deaths People from Clapham People from Shoreham, Kent English geologists Alumni of University College London Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Geological Society of London Wollaston Medal winners Academics of the University of Oxford Knights Bachelor Royal Medal winners