William Phillips FGS FRS (10 May 17752 April 1828) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

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, althou ...

Biography

Phillips was the son of James Phillips, printer and bookseller in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He became interested in mineralogy and geology, and was one of the founders 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 ...

(1807). His ''Outlines of Mineralogy and Geology'' (1815) and ''Elementary Introduction to the Knowledge of Mineralogy'' (1816) became standard textbooks. His digest of English geology, ''A selection of Facts from the Best Authorities, arranged so as to form an Outline of the Geology of England and Wales'' (1818), formed the foundation of the larger work undertaken by Phillips in conjunction with William Conybeare, of which only the first part was published, entitled ''Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales'' (1822). This book had a major influence on the development of geology in Britain. In this work Phillips reprinted his description of the chalk cliffs of

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

and other parts of East

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Phillips was a member of the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

. He was elected 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 1827. In 1796 he and his brother Richard Phillips, together with William Allen and

Luke Howard Luke Howard, (28 November 1772 – 21 March 1864) was a British manufacturing chemist and an amateur meteorologist with broad interests in science. His lasting contribution to science is a nomenclature system for clouds, which he proposed ...

, took part in forming the

Askesian Society The Askesian Society — was a debating club for scientific thinkers in London (1796-1807). The name was taken from the Greek term ''Askesis'', meaning 'training' or 'application'. History Founded on 23 March 1796 in London.''Torrens H. S.'' The ...

. The

zeolite Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a metal ion or H+. These p ...

mineral

phillipsite Phillipsite is a mineral series of the zeolite group; a hydrated potassium, calcium and aluminium silicate, approximating to . The members of the series are phillipsite-K, phillipsite-Na and phillipsite-Ca. The crystals are monoclinic, but only c ...

is named for him.

Biography

Notes

Further reading