Wilfred Norman Edwards FGS (13 June 1890 – 17 December 1956) was a British paleobotanist and keeper of geology at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

from 1938 to 1955 and was awarded the

Lyell Medal The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal. This medal is awarded based on one Earth Scientist's exceptional contribution of research to the scientific ...

in 1955.‘Edwards, Wilfred Norman’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 20 June 2024
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Education

Edwards was born in

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, and went to school at Cambridge County School. He trained as a botanist, studying 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 ...

School of Botany under

Albert Seward Sir Albert Charles Seward FRS (9 October 1863 – 11 April 1941) was a British botanist and geologist. Life Seward was born in Lancaster. His first education was at Lancaster Grammar School and he then went on to St John's College, Cambridg ...

, professor of botany, and others. He attended

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

as a scholar, and graduated with a BA degree in 1912.

Career

After graduation, Edwards worked in Germany with paleobotanist Walther Gothan, before starting work at the Natural History Museum in 1913. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

in the Balkans, and only returned to museum work in 1919. In December 1922, Edwards was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society, London, at which point he was an assistant in the geological department of the museum. He was keeper of geology at the museum from 1938 to 1955. He was the first paleobotanist to be employed by the museum, and he worked on fossil plants for much of his career, publishing numerous papers and reports. Early in his career, Edwards recognised fossil plants in samples that had been collected during early geological expeditions to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

; notably, the identification of leaves of the plant ''

Glossopteris ''Glossopteris'' (etymology: from Ancient Greek γλῶσσα (glôssa, " tongue ") + πτερίς (pterís, " fern ")) is the largest and best-known genus of the extinct Permian order of seed plants known as Glossopteridales (also known as Ar ...

'' and fossil wood '' Rhexoxylon'' in samples collected by Hartley Ferrar from

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78th parallel south, 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Ant ...

during the British

Discovery Expedition The ''Discovery'' Expedition of 1901–1904, known officially as the British National Antarctic Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since the voyage of James Clark Ross sixty years earlier (1839–184 ...

of 1901 to 1904. Edwards' career took him to many parts of Europe and Africa to collect specimens. In his obituary, Edwards' colleague Maurice Wonnacott recounts how one collecting expedition in north Africa involved a 500 kilometre round-trip by camel from

Touggourt Touggourt (; or 'the gate') is a city and Communes of Algeria, commune, former sultanate and capital of Touggourt District, in Touggourt Province, Algeria, built next to an oasis in the Sahara. As of the 2008 census, the commune had a population ...

Tozeur Tozeur (; ) is a city in southwest Tunisia. The city is located northwest of Chott el Djerid, in between this Chott and the smaller Chott el Gharsa. It is the capital of Tozeur Governorate. It was the site of the ancient city and former bishopr ...

. In 1929, Edwards travelled overland the length of Africa, from

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Recognition and awards

Edwards served on the council 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 ...

from 1936 to 1945. From 1940 to 1944, he was secretary, and from 1944 to 1945 was vice president of the society. He was awarded the Lyell Fund in 1933, and in 1955, he was awarded the Lyell medal of the Geological Society in recognition of his contributions to paleobotany.

Family

Edwards married Winifred How in 1921, and they later lived in

Hitchin, Hertfordshire Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

. Edwards collapsed and died on Hitchin station on 17 Dececember 1956.

Selected works

* Edwards, W.N. (1931) Guide to an exhibition illustrating the early history of palaeontology, British Museum (Natural History) special guide no. 8. London: Trustees of the British Museum, 68 pp. * Edwards, W.N. (1935) Guide to the fossil plants in the British Museum (Natural History), 2nd ed. London: Trustees of the British Museum, 73 pp. * Edwards, W.N. (1967) The early history of palaeontology, British Museum (Natural History) publications no. 658. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural history), 58 pp.

References

1890 births 1956 deaths 20th-century British geologists Fellows of the Geological Society of London Employees of the Natural History Museum, London Lyell Medal winners British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge {{UK-geologist-stub