Edward James Wayland C.B.E, 23 January 1888- 11 July 1966 was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and author. He was the first president of the Geological Survey of Uganda and co-founder of The Uganda Society in 1923.

Early life and education

Wayland was born in London on 1888 to Edward Wayland and Emily Street. He was educated at the

City of London College London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form Londo ...

, the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from t ...

, and the

Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...

. He also studied archaeology at

Cambridge University 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 ...

Career

Wayland conducted geological fieldwork in Egypt in 1909 and Portuguese, East Africa (Mozambique) in 1911 and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

before 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 ...

. From 1912, he worked as an Assistant Mineralogical Surveyor for

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. During World War I, he served in France from 1916 to 1919. After the war, he became a Government Geologist in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, where he also had interest in archaeology, especially early prehistory. He joined the Geological Survey of

in 1919 and became its director in 1920. He was involved in mineral prospecting, geological mapping, and research in

and neighboring countries. He discovered a number of archaeological sites and stone tools in Uganda, such as Nsongezi and was part of the team that excavated the Luzira head. He also wrote about the relationship between rift valleys, rivers, rains, and early human evolution in Africa. He briefly studied archaeology at

during his directorship of the Geological Survey of Uganda. British Museum Room 25 Luzira Head Uganda 17022019 4901

In 1923, he was one of the founding members of The Uganda Society, a cultural, and scientific society and became its president in 1934–1935. He served in the British Army during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was sent to

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

in 1943, where he became the director of the Bechuanaland Geological Survey. He also excavated and wrote about prehistoric sites and fossils in

, such as Tsodilo Hills and Makapansgat. In 1939–45, he again served in the war, but this time he also did geological work in Bechuanaland (Botswana).

Honors and legacy

Wayland was awarded with the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1935 for his services to geology and archaeology in

. He retired in 1953 and moved to Ramsgate, Kent, where he died on 11 July 1966. He donated many of his archaeological and paleontological specimens to the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

and other institutions. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of African prehistory and a mentor to many African and British scholars.

Personal life

Wayland married Ellen Morrison in 1917.

Publications

* Wayland wrote on geology, much on Africa. He authored “Stones of the Nawaratna: Their mythical significance and superstitious lore” which was published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. * In 1925, as a Government Geologist, he documented the petroleum potential of Uganda in the publication "Petroleum in Uganda".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayland, Edward James Presidents of The Uganda Society 20th-century British geologists People educated at the City of London School Alumni of the Royal College of Science 1888 births 1966 deaths Alumni of the University of Cambridge