David Thomas Ansted FRS (5 February 181413 May 1880) was an English professor of geology and author of numerous books on geology. His role as a teacher at

Addiscombe Military Seminary The East India Company Military Seminary was a British military academy at Addiscombe, Surrey, in what is now the London Borough of Croydon. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1861. Its purpose was to train young officers to serve in the East India ...

, where future

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

army officers were trained, had an influence on the study of geology in the colonies.

Youth, education

Ansted was born in London on 5 February 1814 to William Ansted. He was educated at Jesus College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, and inspired by

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 ...

took an interest in geology. After taking an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1839, he was elected to fellow of the college. He was appointed professor of geology at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

in 1840, holding the post until 1853. From 1845, he was also a lecturer at the

's Military Seminary at Addiscombe (until its closure in 1861), and professor of geology at the College for Civil Engineers at

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

. His ''Elementary Course of Geology'' textbook was awarded as a prize to cadets at Addiscombe. The cadets themselves were posted to India and other colonies where some pursued geology. He became 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 1844, and from that date until 1847 he was vice-secretary of the

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 ...

. The practical side of geology now came to occupy his attention and he visited various parts of Europe as a consulting geologist and

mining engineer Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...

. In 1868, Ansted became an Examiner in Physical Geography to the Science and Art Department of King's College. In 1870 he was awarded a

Telford Medal The Telford Medal is a prize awarded by the British Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) for a paper or series of papers. It was introduced in 1835 following a bequest made by Thomas Telford, the ICE's first president. It can be awarded in gold ...

by the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

for his paper "On the Lagoons and Marshes of certain parts of the Shores of the Mediterranean".

Travel and writing

Ansted's ''Gold-Seekers Manual'' (1849) attempted to improve the prospects of emigrants to the California

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

. His other published works include ''Geology, Introductory, Descriptive, & Practical'' (1844), ''The Geologist's Text-Book'' (1845), ''Syllabus of Lectures on Mineralogy, Geology, and Practical Geology'' (1848), ''An Elementary Course of Geology, Mineralogy, and Physical Geography'' (1850), ''The Great Stone Book of Nature'' (1853), ''The Applications of Geology to the Arts and Manufactures'' (1865). He was the

co-author Collaborative writing is a procedure in which two or more persons work together on a text of some kind (e.g., academic papers, reports, creative writing, projects, and business proposals). It is often the norm, rather than the exception, in many ac ...

with

Robert Gordon Latham Robert Gordon Latham FRS (24 March 1812 – 9 March 1888) was an English ethnologist and philologist. Early life The eldest son of Thomas Latham, vicar of Billingborough, Lincolnshire, he was born there on 24 March 1812. He entered Eton College ...

of ''The Channel Islands'' (1862). By 1853, Ansted's reputation was sufficient that he was hired by potential investors to survey promising coal fields along the New River in southern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in the United States, and he was one of the earlier geologists to identify the rich

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

seams which lay there. Ansted collaborated with numerous scientists of the period and like many others he entered into a correspondence with

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

in about 1860.

Personal life

Ansted married Augusta Dorothea Hackett (1828-1897), daughter of Alexander Baillie on 24 June 1848 and they had six children. Ansted died at Melton near

Woodbridge, Suffolk Woodbridge is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is up the River Deben from the sea. It lies north-east of Ipswich and around north-east of London. In 2011 it had a populat ...

, on 13 May 1880. He is buried in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

, London.

References

External links

The Applications of Geology to the Arts and Manufactures (1865)

The great stone book of nature (1863)

Scenery, science and art; being extracts from the note-book of a geologist and mining engineer (1854)
* An elementary course of geology, mineralogy, and physical geography (1850)
The gold-seeker's manual (1849)
* ''Geology, introductory, descriptive, & practical'' (1844
Volume 1Volume 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansted, David T. 1814 births 1880 deaths 19th-century English geologists English mining engineers Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Academics of King's College London British East India Company civil servants Scientists from London

Youth, education

Travel and writing

Personal life

See also

References

External links