Andrew Ketcham Barnett (1852–1914) was a

mineral collector Mineral collecting is the hobby of systematically collecting, identifying and displaying mineral specimens. Mineral collecting can also be a part of the profession of mineralogy and allied geologic specialties. Individual collectors often spe ...

and dealer in

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

of the

School of Mines (now part of the

Camborne School of Mines Camborne School of Mines (), commonly abbreviated to CSM, was founded in 1888. Its research and teaching is related to the understanding and management of the Earth's natural processes, resources and the environment. It has undergraduate, postg ...

), lectured on

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

, and helped to build their mineral collection. He also served as Mayor of Penzance on seven occasions from 1906 to 1913. Cooper writes of him: :"Barnett was born in

Chacewater Chacewater () is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated approximately east of Redruth. The hamlets of Carnhot, Cox Hill, Creegbrawse, Hale Mills, Jolly's Bottom, Salem, Saveock, Scorrier, Todpool, Twelve ...

in 1852. He was an original member of the

Mineralogical Society The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (now known as the Mineralogical Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland) was founded in 1876. Its main purpose is to disseminate scientific knowledge of the Mineral Sciences (mineralogy) as ...

, a Fellow 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 ...

from 1875, and President of the

Royal Geological Society of Cornwall The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society originally based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in ...

1907–08, having been awarded their Bolitho Medal in 1906. His classes on

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

in 1873 led to the establishment of the Mining and Science School at Penzance of which he became

. He was mayor of Penzance seven times from 1906 to 1913. Active as a mineral dealer from at least 1876 to 1887 at Chyandour, Penzance, he specialized in local specimens and occasionally sold minerals brought back from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

by "Cousin Jack." In the 1881 Census he described himself as an assayer. He is the author of the now-rare ''Elementary

Inorganic Chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with chemical synthesis, synthesis and behavior of inorganic compound, inorganic and organometallic chemistry, organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subj ...

; lecture notes'', ca. 1900."

References

1852 births 1914 deaths Geologists from Cornwall Mineralogists from Cornwall People from Penzance Fellows of the Geological Society of London Mayors of places in Cornwall People from Chacewater Presidents of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall {{Cornwall-stub