John Tuzo Wilson (October 24, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was a Canadian

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

and

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, alth ...

who achieved worldwide acclaim for his contributions to the theory of

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large te ...

. ''Plate tectonics'' is the

scientific theory A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the natural world and universe that has been repeatedly tested and corroborated in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocols of observation, measurement, and evaluation ...

that the rigid outer layers of the Earth ( crust and part of the

upper mantle The upper mantle of Earth is a very thick layer of rock inside the planet, which begins just beneath the crust (at about under the oceans and about under the continents) and ends at the top of the lower mantle at . Temperatures range from appro ...

), the

lithosphere A lithosphere () is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time scales of up to thousands of years o ...

, is broken up into around 13 pieces or "plates" that move independently over the weaker

asthenosphere The asthenosphere () is the mechanically weak and ductile region of the upper mantle of Earth. It lies below the lithosphere, at a depth between ~ below the surface, and extends as deep as . However, the lower boundary of the asthenosphere is not ...

. Wilson maintained that the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Ku ...

were created as a tectonic plate (extending across much of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

) shifted to the northwest over a fixed

hotspot Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to: Places * Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett * Hot Spot (Tr ...

, spawning a long series of

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

es. He also conceived of the

transform fault A transform fault or transform boundary, is a fault along a plate boundary where the motion is predominantly horizontal. It ends abruptly where it connects to another plate boundary, either another transform, a spreading ridge, or a subduction ...

, a major plate boundary where two plates move past each other horizontally (''e.g.,'' the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip (horizontal). ...

). His name was given to two young Canadian

submarine volcano Submarine volcanoes are underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. Many submarine volcanoes are located near areas of tectonic plate formation, known as mid-ocean ridges. The volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges ...

es called the

Tuzo Wilson Seamounts The Tuzo Wilson Seamounts, also called J. Tuzo Wilson Knolls and Tuzo Wilson Knolls, are two young active submarine volcanoes off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, located northwest of Vancouver Island and south of the Haida Gwaii archipe ...

. The

Wilson cycle The Wilson Cycle is a model that describes the opening and closing of ocean basins and the subduction and divergence of tectonic plates during the assembly and disassembly of supercontinents. A classic example of the Wilson Cycle is the opening an ...

of seabed expansion and contraction (associated with the

Supercontinent cycle The supercontinent cycle is the quasi-periodic aggregation and dispersal of Earth's continental crust. There are varying opinions as to whether the amount of continental crust is increasing, decreasing, or staying about the same, but it is agree ...

) bears his name.

Early life and education

Wilson was born in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

on October 24, 1908, the son of

John Armistead Wilson John Armistead Wilson CBE (November 2, 1879 – October 10, 1954) was a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and aviation pioneer. Along with Major Clare C. MacLaurin, he was responsible for the formulation of Canada's aviation policy following the First ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, and his wife, Henrietta Tuzo. Wilson's father was of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent and his mother was a third-generation Canadian of French descent. He became one of the first people in Canada to receive a degree in

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

, graduating from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1930. He obtained a second (BA) degree from

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

in 1932 and then a doctorate (ScD). He then pursued further graduate studies as

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

, where he received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in geology in 1936 after completing a doctoral dissertation titled "The Geology of the Mill creek - Stillwater Area,

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Colum ...

Career

In 1936, Wilson joined the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; french: Commission géologique du Canada (CGC)) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the en ...

as a government geologist. This was interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

during which he served with the Royal Canadian Engineers, serving in Europe and reaching the rank of Colonel. He was involved in Operation Musk Ox. In 1946 he was appointed the first Professor of Geophysics at the

. He made significant contributions to the theory of Plate tectonics, adding a concept of hot spots. Plate tectonics is the

that the rigid outer layers of the Earth ( crust and part of the

), the

, is broken up into around 13 pieces or "plates" that move independently over the weaker

. Wilson maintained that the

were created as a tectonic plate (extending across much of the

) shifted to the northwest over a fixed

, spawning a long series of

es. He also conceived of the

, a major plate boundary where two plates move past each other horizontally (''e.g.,'' the

). The

of seabed expansion and contraction (associated with the

) bears his name, in recognition of his iconic observation that the present-day

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

appears along a former suture zone and his development in a classic 1968 paper of what was later named the "Wilson cycle" in 1975 by

Kevin C. A. Burke Kevin C. A. Burke (''Kevin Charles Anthony Burke'', November 13, 1929 - March 21, 2018) was a geologist known for his contributions in the theory of plate tectonics. In the course of his life, Burke held multiple professorships, most recent of wh ...

, a colleague and friend of Wilson. His name was given to two young Canadian

es called the

. Wilson was president (1957–1960) of the

International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG; french: Union géodésique et géophysique internationale, UGGI) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the scientific study of Earth and its space environment usi ...

(IUGG). In 1967 he became principal of Erindale College, now known as University of Toronto Mississauga. In 1974 he left to become the Director General of the

Ontario Science Centre The Ontario Science Centre, formally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology, is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the Don Valley Parkway about northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road just south of Eglin ...

. In 1983 he became Chancellor of

York University, Toronto York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and staf ...

. He was the host of the television series ''The Planet of Man''.

Honours and awards

In 1969, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with ...

and was promoted to the rank of Companion of that order in 1974. He was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1971 and 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 1971. Wilson was awarded the John J. Carty Award from the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Natio ...

, of which he was already a member, in 1975. In 1978, he was awarded the

Wollaston Medal The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of gold (1831–1845), t ...

of the

Geological Society of London 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 ...

and a Gold Medal by the

Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada—its people ...

. He also served as honorary vice president of the RCGS. He was 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 ...

, the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, 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, bil ...

, and of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. He was elected president-elect (1978–1980) and president (1980–1982) of the American Geophysical Union. He also served as the director general of the

from 1974 to 1985. Wilson and his plate tectonic theory are commemorated on the grounds of the Centre by a giant "immovable" spike that records the amount of plate movement since Wilson's birth. The J. Tuzo Wilson Medal of the Canadian Geophysical Union recognizes achievements in geophysics. He is also commemorated by a named memorial professorship and an eponymous annual public lecture delivered at the

. He is one of the 2016 inductees into Legends Row: Mississauga Walk of Fame.

Personal life

Photography

Wilson was an avid traveller and took a large number of photographs during his travels to many destinations, including European countries, parts of the then USSR, China, the southern Pacific, Africa, and to both polar regions. Although many of his photos are geological—details of rocks and their structures or panoramas of large formations—the bulk of his photos are of the places, activities and people that he saw on his travels: landscapes, city views, monuments, sites, instruments, vehicles, flora and fauna, occupations and people.

Family

In 1938 he married Isabel Jean Dickson. He retired in 1986 and died in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

on April 15, 1993.

Selected publications

*''One Chinese Moon'' (1959) * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* *
The life of John Tuzo Wilson
history pages, Department of Physics, University of Toronto.
The Tuzo Wilson Lecture
an annual public lecture given at the University of Toronto.
The J. Tuzo Wilson Professorship
a named memorial professorship at the University of Toronto.
Travel Photographs of J. Tuzo Wilson

John Tuzo Wilson archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
* Watch Tuzo Wilson in the {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, John Tuzo 1908 births 1993 deaths Military personnel from Ottawa Royal Canadian Engineers officers Presidents of the Canadian Geophysical Union Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 20th-century Canadian geologists Tectonicists Chancellors of York University Companions of the Order of Canada Canadian geophysicists Wilson Medal recipients Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Canadian Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Penrose Medal winners University of Toronto alumni Trinity College (Canada) alumni Princeton University alumni Logan Medal recipients Wollaston Medal winners Sandford Fleming Award recipients Canadian Army personnel of World War II Presidents of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society