John Johnston O'Neill (November 12, 1886 – June 1, 1966) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and academic. Born in

Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed after ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, the son of Thomas John O'Neill, an Irish immigrant, and Mary Jane Henderson, O'Neill received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in geology and mining from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1909 and 1910. He earned a Ph.D. in

structural geology Structural geology is the study of the three-dimensional distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational histories. The primary goal of structural geology is to use measurements of present-day rock geometries to uncover informati ...

and

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The clas ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1912. From 1912 to 1913, he did postdoctoral work at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. O'Neill worked for the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...

from 1909 to 1913 and from 1914 to 1920. In 1913, he spent a year as a geologist on

Vilhjalmur Stefansson Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada. Early life and education Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. ...

's Canadian Arctic Expedition. In 1920, he worked for the Whitehall Petroleum Co. in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In 1921, he was appointed assistant professor of geology at McGill University. In 1929, he became head of the Department of Geology. From 1935 to 1939, he was dean of science. He also served as dean of graduate studies and research (1938–1942) and dean of engineering (1942–1952). From 1948 to 1952, he was a vice-principal. He retired in 1952. A Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

, he was its president from 1950 to 1951. He was a founder, governor, and board chairman of the Arctic Institute of North America. In 1999 a new mineral from

Mont Saint-Hilaire Mont Saint-Hilaire (; English: Mount Saint-Hilaire; ;, ; see for other names) is a mountain, high, in the Montérégie region of southern Quebec. It is about thirty kilometres east of Montreal, and immediately east of the Richelieu River. It ...

was named " oneillite" in his honour. He died in Ottawa in 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, John Johnston 20th-century Canadian geologists Geological Survey of Canada personnel Canadian university and college faculty deans Canadian university and college vice-presidents Canadian people of Irish descent Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada McGill University Faculty of Science alumni Academic staff of McGill University Yale University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni People from Port Colborne 1886 births 1966 deaths