Online Resources

 

History of geology resources on the web: a selection by the History of Geology Group (HOGG)

There is a growing number of websites and pages with information about the history of geology and the wider earth sciences, including those of kindred organisations, biographies of geologists, archive guides, and full text reproductions of geological classics.  The History of Geology Group (HOGG) is actively searching for and recording these, and offers the following examples and links.

The content of this page is under development: the first 110+ listings below cover kindred organisations, on-line biographies, some thematic sites, on-line full texts of geological classics and of on-line catalogues of archives.

Following a recent review of the links, some which were found to be broken have been made inactive for the time being.  Please send further suggestions, corrections, and news of broken links to Nic Bilham.

Geological Society of London: resources on this site

• A Brief History
• Bibliography of obituaries of the Geological Society 1828-1970
• Medallists since 1831
• 'From the Archives' - portraits of past Fellows with commentaries by Ted Nield, as published in Geoscientist (coming soon)

Kindred Organisations

• British Society for the History of Science (and the British Journal for the History of Science)
• Geological Society of America: History of Geology Division (GSAHIST) (includes on-line versions of The History of Geology Division Newsletter)
• History of Earth Sciences Society (HESS) (and its journal Earth Sciences History)
• INHIGEO: International Commission on the History of Geological Science of the International Union of Geological Sciences
• Brief history of the origin and founders of INHIGEO by Cecil J Schneer
• Society for the History of Natural History (and its journal Archives of Natural History)

On-line biographies of Earth scientists

• Louis Agassiz (1807 - 1873) (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
  • Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz: Louis Agassiz: His Life and Correspondence (1885, 2 vols.) (full text: Project Gutenberg)
  • Louis Agassiz (1807 - 1873) (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
• Georgius Agricola (1494 - 1555) (by Helmut F. Wilsdorf) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  • Georgius Agricola (1494 - 1555) (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
• Mary Anning (1799 - 1847) (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
  • Women in Science: a selection of 16 significant contributors (San Diego Supercomputer Center, University of California San Diego)
• Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752 - 1840) (University of Minnesota, Mankato)
• William Buckland (1784 - 1856) (by Walter F. Cannon) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  • William Buckland (1784 - 1856) (Oxford University Museum of Natural History)
  • William Buckland (1784 - 1856) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• Thomas Burnet (1635 - 1715) (by Suzanne Kelly) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
• Robert Chambers (1802 - 1871) (by Wesley C. Williams) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  • Robert Chambers (1802 - 1871) (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
• William Daniel Conybeare (1787 - 1857) (by M.J.S. Rudwick) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
• Georges Cuvier (1769 - 1832) (by Franck Bourdier) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  • Georges Cuvier (1769 - 1832) (Bibliothèque National Publique de France)
  • Georges Cuvier (1769 - 1832) "Georges Cuvier, le père de la paléontologie" (Muséum Cuvier à Montbéliard, France)
  • Georges Cuvier (1769 - 1832) "Cuvier, Georges: Biographie" (Futura Sciences)
• Raymond Dart (1893 - 1988) (University of Minnesota, Mankato)
• Charles Darwin, (1809 - 1882) Autobiography of Charles Darwin (From Life and Letters of Charles Darwin by Francis Darwin, 1895) (full text: Project Gutenberg) (also available on Victorian Web full texts)
  • Charles Darwin, (1809 - 1882) Un pequeño homenaje a DARWIN, el abuelo de todos los biólogos. (Very extensive apparently anonymous - ?South American - compilation of biographical, scientific and social context material on Darwin, translated into Spanish; many portraits of Darwin and his contemporaries and associates; links to full e-text (in English) of Origin of the Species (1859))
• Arthur Holmes (1890 - 1965) "Arthur Holmes: An Ingenious Geoscientist" (GSA History of Geology Division) (in PDF format)
  • Arthur Holmes (1890 - 1965) "D'Arthur Holmes à aujourd'hui." (Département de géologie et de génie géologique, Université Laval, Québec)
  • Arthur Holmes (1890 - 1965) Autobiographical accceptance speech on award of Vetlesen Prize of Columbia University, 1964. (Lamont-Docherty Earth Laboratory, Columbia)
  • Arthur Holmes (1890 - 1965) "Arthur Holmes's Principles of Physical Geology" by J.B. Calvert, University of Denver
• Alexander von Humboldt (1769 - 1859) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• James Hutton (1726 - 1797) (by V.A. Eyles) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  • James Hutton (1726 - 1797) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• Robert Jameson (1774 - 1854) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519) (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
• Martin Lister (1639 - 1712) (by Jeffrey Carr) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
• Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875) (by Leonard G. Wilson) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  • Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875) "Charles Lyell (1797-1875) gentleman geologist" by John van Weyhe (The Victorian Web)
  • Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• Gideon Algernon Mantell (1790 - 1852) (by John Challinor) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
• Hugh Miller (1802 - 1856) (by Wesley C. Williams)(Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  
  • Hugh Miller (1802 - 1856) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• Roderick Impey Murchison (1792 - 1871) (by M.J.S. Rudwick) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  • Roderick Impey Murchison (1792 - 1871) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• Richard Owen (1804 - 1892) (by Wesley C. Williams)(Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
• Benjamin Neeve Peach (1842 - 1926) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• John Playfair (1748 - 1819) (W.V. Farrar) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
• Andrew Crombie Ramsay (1814 - 1891) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• George Julius Poulett Scrope, (1797 - 1876) (by L.E. Page) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
• Adam Sedgwick (1785 - 1873) (by M.J.S. Rudwick) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  • Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873) (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
  • Adam Sedgwick (1785 - 1873) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• George Gaylord Simpson (1902 - 1984) (University of California at Santa Clara)
• William Smith (1769 - 1839) (Joan M. Eyles) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)
  • William Smith (1769 - 1839) (GSA History of Geology Division)
  • William Smith (1769 - 1839) (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
• Henry Clifton Sorby (1826 - 1908)
• Nicholas Steno (1638 - 1686) (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
• Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749 - 1817) (Biographical introduction and bibliography, Library of the T.U. Bergakademie, Freiberg, Germany)
  • Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749 - 1817) "Abraham Gottlob Werner Mineraloge" by Rudolph Hohl (in PDF format) (Bibliotek, Berlin - Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften)
  • Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749 - 1817) (NAHSTE, University of Edinburgh)
• John Woodward (1665 - 1728) (V.A. Eyles) (Dictionary of Scientific Biography)

Themes and General Historical Reviews

• British Geological Survey: "Our Past" brief introduction with a bibliography
• Chain of Being by Lia Forigari (Dictionary of the History of Ideas, University of Virginia Library)
• Edinburgh and the reception of early glacial theory by Diarmid Finnegan (Edinburgh Geologist no. 40, Spring 2003)
• History of Geologic Pioneers, Conference, August 2 - 5, 2000 (GSA History of Geology Division) (Introduction and bibliography by Gerald M. Friedman)
• History of the stratigraphical nomenclature of the glacial period by P.L. Gibbard, August 2005 (ICS Subcommision on Quaternary Stratigraphy)
• Piltdown Man by Richard Harter (The author/compiler is neither a geologist or historian, but he has produced a wide-ranging and fair summary of the Piltdown hoax with many references and links.)
• Plate Tectonics: The Rocky History of an Idea (University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology)
• Religion and Science in the Nineteenth Century by W. Owen Chadwick. (Dictionary of the History of Ideas, University of Virginia Library)
• Royal Society: guide and index to Biographies of Fellows from 1660 (also includes links to selected brief biographies on-line and to lists of related material in the RS Library and Archives)
• Slate Industry of North and Mid Wales by industrial history enthusiast Dave Sallery
• Uniformitarianism and Catastrophism by Leonard G. Wilson. (Dictionary of the History of Ideas, University of Virginia Library) Victorian Science: An Overview. (includes short articles on geology, and short biographies of around two dozen leading Victorian scientists, including Agassiz, Buckland, Cuvier, Darwin, Lyell and Owen) (The Victorian Web)
• United States Geological Survey (USGS): History of USGS 1879 - 1989 by Mary C. Rabbitt (USGS Circular 1050)

On-line full texts of geological and related classics

• Anonymous, 1813. Review of Essay on the Theory of the Earth (by Cuvier, translated by Robert Jameson) (The British Review and London Critical Journal, Volume V, pt. X, 1813) (Victorian Web full texts)
• Anonymous, 1814. Review of Essay on the Theory of the Earth (by Cuvier, translated by Robert Jameson) (The Edinburgh Review, January 1814) (Victorian Web full texts)
• Charles Babbage (1791 - 1871). Reflections on the Decline of Science in England, and on some of its Causes (1830) (Project Gutenberg)
• Georges Cuvier (1769 - 1832). Discours sur les révolutions de la surface du globe, et sur les changemens qu'elles ont produits dans le règne animal. (3rd French edition, 1825) (Victorian Web full texts)
  • Georges Cuvier (1769 - 1832). Discourse on the revolutionary upheavals on the surface of the globe. (English language edition, Paris 1825) (Victorian Web full texts)
  • Georges Cuvier,(1769-1832). 'Elegy of Lamarck'. (Translation, probably by Jameson, of the "Élogue" written in 1831 by Cuvier for the French Académie des Sciences, though publication was delayed). (This version published in Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal Vol. XX (January 1836). (Victorian Web full texts)
• Charles Darwin, (1809 - 1882). The writings of Charles Darwin on the web (edited by Dr John van Wyhe) (British Library website)
  • Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882). Geological Observations on South America (edited by "G.T.B.", Introduction by J.W. Judd) (Project Gutenberg)
  • Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882). Volcanic Islands (edited by "G.T.B.", Introduction by J.W. Judd) (Project Gutenberg)
• • Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882). Voyage of the Beagle (1845) (Project Gutenberg)
• James Hutton (1726 - 1797): Theory of the Earth (presented to the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1785 and published in Trans. Royal Society of Edinburgh 1788) (University of Wisconsin at Marathon County)
  • James Hutton (1726 - 1797)Theory of the Earth vol. 1. (1795) (Project Gutenberg)
  • James Hutton (1726 - 1797) Theory of the Earth vol. 2. (1795) (Project Gutenberg)
• Thomas Henry Huxley, (1825 - 1895) The Rise and Progress of Palaeontology (Essay #2 from Science and the Hebrew Tradition, 1897(?)) (Project Gutenberg)
  • Thomas Henry Huxley, (1825 - 1895). Lectures on Evolution (Essay #3 from Science and the Hebrew Tradition, 1897(?) (Project Gutenberg)
  • Thomas Henry Huxley, (1825 - 1895) The Interpreters of Genesis and the Interpreters of Nature (Essay #4 from Science and Hebrew Tradition) (Project Gutenberg)
• • Thomas Henry Huxley, (1825 - 1895). Geological Contemporaneity and Persistent Types of Life (Anniversary Address to the Geological Society for 1862) (Project Gutenberg)
• Lyell, Charles (1797-1875). The Antiquity of Man (1863) (Project Gutenberg)
  • Lyell, Charles (1797-1875). Student's Elements of Geology (7th edition 1870) (Project Gutenberg)
• Richard Owen, (1804 - 1892). Review of Darwin's Origin of Species (Edinburgh Review, vol. 3, 1860) (Victorian Web full texts)
• Werner, Abraham Gottlob (1749 - 1817). Kurze Klassifikation und Beschreibung der verschiedenen Gebirgsarten (1787) (Complete facsmile (28 pages), Library of the T.U. Bergakademie, Freiberg, Germany)

On-line catalogues of archives

• A2A: Access to Archives - The English Strand of the UK Archives Network fully searchable database of catalogues of nearly 400 record offices and publicly acessible collections. Over 8.7 million entries to date, but still under active development with support from National Archives, British Library and Heritage Lottery Fund, HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office . Currently (December 2005) identifies 375 collections under the search term "geology".
• Geological Society of London: Summary guide to the Archives of the Society
• Wernerian Natural History Society (Edinburgh - founded by Robert Jameson): Minute Books 1808 - 1858. (Edinburgh University Library Special Collections)
• Edinburgh Geological Society Records 1834 - 1990. (Edinburgh University Library Special Collections)
• William Buckland (1784 - 1856) (National Register of Archives index: 33 collections)
• Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) (National Register of Archives index: 40 collections)
  • The Darwin Correspondence Online Database (Cambridge University)
• Archibald Geikie (1835 - 1924) (Edinburgh University Library Special Collections)
• James Geikie (1839-1915) (Edinburgh University Library Special Collections)
• Robert Jameson (1774 - 1854) (National Register of Archives index: 11 collections)
  • Robert Jameson (1774 - 1854) (Edinburgh University Library Special Collections)
• Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875) (National Register of Archives index: 30 collections)
  • Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875) (Edinburgh University Library Special Collections)
• Roderick Impey Murchison (1792-1871) (Edinburgh University Library Special Collections)
• John Phillips (1800 - 1874) (National Register of Archives index: 23 collections)
• William Phillips (1775 - 1826) (National Register of Archives index: 3 collections)
• Joseph Prestwich (1812 - 1896) (National Register of Archives index: 9 collections)
• Friedrich August von Quenstedt (1809-1889) (Universitätsarchiv Tübingen)
• Adam Sedgwick (1785 - 1873) (National Register of Archives index: 18 collections)
• William Smith (1769 - 1839) (National Register of Archives index: 8 collections)

Please send information on further web sites of interest, together with corrections and news of broken links to Nic Bilham.