Alfred Harker FRS (19 February 1859 – 28 July 1939) was an English geologist who specialised in

petrology Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous and metamorphic petrology are commonly taught together ...

and interpretive

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The classi ...

. He was Lecturer in Petrology at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

for many years, and carried out field mapping for the Geological Survey of Scotland and geological studies of western

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

. He and other British geologists pioneered the use of

thin section In optical mineralogy and petrography, a thin section (or petrographic thin section) is a thin slice of a rock or mineral sample, prepared in a laboratory, for use with a polarizing petrographic microscope, electron microscope and electron m ...

s and the

petrographic microscope A petrographic microscope is a type of optical microscope used in petrology and optical mineralogy to identify rocks and minerals in thin sections. The microscope is used in optical mineralogy and petrography, a branch of petrology wh ...

in interpretive petrology.

Education and career

Harker's father was the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

corn merchant Portas Hewart Harker, his mother Ellen Mary Harker. He attended

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

and East Riding College, and the private

Clewer House School Clewer House School was a 19th-century grammar school in Clewer, Windsor, Berkshire for boys. Clewer House was a manor house built ''c.'' 1795. In the early 1800s the house was occupied by John Ramsbottom (1778–1845), who served as MP for Win ...

( Windsor) before enrolling as an undergraduate at St. John's College (

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

) from where he graduated with an M.A. on 18 January 1882. Whilst at Cambridge he was an early member of the

Sedgwick Club The Sedgwick Club is the official student geological society at the University of Cambridge, and is the oldest student-run geological society in the world. It aims to promote the subject of geology among its members through regular talks and ...

. In 1884 he held the post of Demonstrator in the Geology Department under Thomas McKenny Hughes (whom he regarded his

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

), as lecturer at

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millice ...

in 1892 at St. Johns College, as University Lecturer in 1904, and as Reader in Petrology in 1918. Harker's duties included teaching Mineralogy and Petrology to students. Harker was elected as a Fellow of St. John's College in 1885. A geological tour of Western Europe in 1887 introduced him to the metamorphic rocks of the Ardennes which proved to be an influential experience to his continuing research. Harker accompanied Professor Thomas McKenny Hughes to the United States in 1891 where they attended the 5th International Geological Congress. This was the first time the event had been held outside Europe.

Fieldwork and research

In 1895, Harker commenced employment with the

Geological Survey A geological survey is the systematic investigation of the geology beneath a given piece of ground for the purpose of creating a geological map or model. Geological surveying employs techniques from the traditional walk-over survey, studying ou ...

of Great Britain on a part-time basis. Professor McKenny-Hughes had also worked with the Survey, but Harker's invitation came from the then Director General,

Archibald Geikie Sir Archibald Geikie (28 December 183510 November 1924) was a Scottish geologist and writer. Early life Geikie was born in Edinburgh in 1835, the eldest son of Isabella Thom and her husband James Stuart Geikie, a musician and music critic. Th ...

. This was to assist in the mapping and determination of the igneous rocks of the

and the Small Isles. This association lasted until 1905. At this time, he also became a Member of the Scottish Mountaineering Club. Harker's active fieldwork programme also saw him collaborating with Professor John Edward Marr of the Department of Geology on the volcanic rocks of the Lake District in 1889. The

Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, is the geology museum of the University of Cambridge. It is part of the Department of Earth Sciences and is located on the university's Downing Site in Downing Street, central Cambridge, England. The Sedgw ...

opened in 1904 and three years later, Harker published research on material he had prepared petrological rock slices of. He named the petrological samples brought back by

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 ...

as the 'Beagle Collection of Rocks'.

Later years

Harker retired in 1931 and St. John's College made him a Life Fellow soon after his retirement. He died in 1939. A book illustrating the geology and landscapes of the Western Isles of Scotland was published posthumously. Many of the illustrations in this work were based on drawings he made in his numerous field notebooks.

Honours and awards

He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

(FRS) in June 1902, and received their

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...

in 1935. In 1907 he was awarded the

Murchison Medal The Murchison Medal is an academic award established by Roderick Murchison, who died in 1871. First awarded in 1873, it is normally given to people who have made a significant contribution to geology by means of a substantial body of research and ...

, and in 1922 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 ...

, both by 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 ...

, which he had served as president from 1916–1918. The

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

awarded him with an honorary doctoral degree in law in 1919.

Harker Glacier Harker Glacier is a tidewater glacier on South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Harker glacier was first mapped by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (1901-1904), and named De Geer Glacier, after Gerard De Geer (1858-1943), a Swedis ...

South Georgia Island South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the eas ...

,United States Geological Survey (2002)
"Feature Name: Harker"

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the m ...

. Retrieved 10 May 2007.

Mount Harker Mount Harker is a mountain peak located east of Willis Glacier in the Saint Johns Range, Victoria Land, Antarctica. The mountain was first mapped by the Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1913) led by Robert Falcon Scott. The mountain is named f ...

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

, and

Dorsa Harker Dorsa Harker is a wrinkle ridge at in Mare Crisium on the Moon. It is 213 km long and was named after Alfred Harker, an English petrologist Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks and the conditions under which they form. Pe ...

,United States Geological Survey (2007)
"Moon: Dorsa Harker"
Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature Feature Information. Retrieved 20 June 2007. a feature on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

, are named after him. The mineral harkerite, first found on the Isle of Skye, is named after him. After his retirement, he was given the post of honorary

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the Cambridge Petrological Museum, and their extensive rock collection bears his name. Two lecture rooms are named after him in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge.

Works

A list of Harker's principal geological writings up to 1917 can be found in a biographical article published in the Geological Magazine.
''The Bala volcanic series of Caernarvonshire and associated rocks; being the Sedgwick Prize Essay for 1888''
1889, Cambridge University Press.
''Petrology for Students''
1895, Cambridge University Press
''The geology of North Arran, South Bute, and the Cumbraes, with parts of Ayrshire and Kintyre (Sheet 21, Scotland.)''
1903, HMSO
''The overthrust torridonian rocks of the Isle of Rum''
1903, The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London Volume 59 pp 189–215
''The Tertiary Igneous Rocks of Skye''
1904, Geological Survey of Scotland Memoir
''The Natural History of Igneous Rocks''
1909, Macmillan
''The Geology of the Small Isles of Inverness-shire: (Rum, Canna, Eigg, Muck etc.)(sheet 60, Scotland.)''
1909, Geological Survey of Scotland Memoir
''Notes on geological map-reading''
1920, Heffer *''Metamorphism: A Study Of The Transformations Of Rock-Masses'', 1923, Methuen
Second Edition 1939

References

Bibliography

*Young, Davis A., (2003) ''Mind Over Magma: The Story of Igneous Petrology'', Princeton University Press. * Bragg, William (1939) ''Address of the President Sir William Bragg, O.M., at the Anniversary Meeting, 30 November 1939'', Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences 173(954):286–312 (18 December 1939). Obituary pp. 294–295. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harker, Alfred 1859 births 1939 deaths Scientists from Kingston upon Hull Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 20th-century British geologists Petrologists Fellows of the Royal Society Royal Medal winners Wollaston Medal winners Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge People educated at Hull and East Riding College 19th-century British geologists