The Woodwardian Professor of Geology is a professorship held in the Department of Earth Sciences at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. It was founded by John Woodward in 1728 under the title of Professor of Fossils. Woodward's will left to the University a large collection of fossils and also dictated that the professor should be elected by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, the

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

, the President 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 ...

, the President of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

, the Member of Parliament for the

, and the University Senate.

Incumbents of the Woodwardian Professorship of Geology

* Conyers Middleton, 1731 * Charles Mason, 1734 (died 1770 and described on hi
tomb in Orwell church
as "Woodwardian Professor of Fossils") *

John Michell John Michell (; 25 December 1724 – 21 April 1793) was an English natural philosopher and clergyman who provided pioneering insights into a wide range of scientific fields including astronomy, geology, optics, and gravitation. Considered "on ...

, 1762 * Samuel Ogden, 1764 * Thomas Green, 1778 *

John Hailstone John Hailstone (13 December 1759 – 9 June 1847) was an English geologist. Biography Early life He was placed at an early age under the care of a maternal uncle at York, and was sent to Beverley school in the East Riding. Samuel Hailston ...

, 1788 *

Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick FRS (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did ...

, 1818 * Thomas McKenny Hughes, 1873 * John Edward Marr, 1917 * Owen Thomas Jones, 1930 * William Bernard Robinson King, 1943 * Oliver Meredith Boone Bulman, 1955 * Harry Blackmore Whittington, 1966-1983 * Ian Nicholas McCave, 1985-2008 * David A. Hodell, 2008-

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Professor of Geology, Woodwardian Geology, Woodwardian Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge 1728 establishments in England Geology, Woodwardian

Incumbents of the Woodwardian Professorship of Geology

See also

References