Sir George Malcolm Brown, FRS (5 October 1925 – 27 March 1997) was one of the most respected

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

of the second half of the twentieth century. His formidable reputation as an

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

petrologist Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks, their mineralogy, composition, texture, structure and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous an ...

enabled him to become one of the few scientists invited by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

to work on the

Moon rock Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth ...

samples recovered from the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

lunar mission.

Early life

Brown was born in

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdiv ...

and was educated at Coatham School. Following a period in the RAF, he entered the

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

department of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

in 1947, graduating with

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

in 1950. The

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Geology, Lawrence Wager, recognised Brown's abilities, and took him with him as a research student following his move to the

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

in Geology at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. Brown's research centred on the ultrabasic complex of Rhum,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and built upon earlier work undertaken by W.A. Deer and L.R. Wager. He received his D.Phil in 1954.

Academic career

Expeditions to

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

to research the

Skaergaard intrusion The Skaergaard intrusion is a layered igneous intrusion in the Kangerlussuaq area of East Greenland and is composed of various rocks and minerals including gabbro, olivine, apatite, and basalt. History and background The Skaergaard intrusi ...

led Brown to a one-year

Harkness Fellowship The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several co ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. He returned to the UK in 1955 as a lecturer at

where his research involved the

intrusions of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply 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 by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

. He returned to

as Professor of Geology in 1967, which served to strengthen that department's already enviable reputation. It was during his time at Durham that Brown was invited by

to undertake work on the

lunar samples. A story told to Durham geology undergraduates is that Brown accidentally left the box containing the samples on a train from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, only later to discover that

had delivered the genuine samples by secure delivery direct to Durham. The true story is that after appearing on the TV programme ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First broadcast on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorrow's World' ...

'', Brown's train from London to Durham broke down at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

, and he had to travel by police escort to Durham. This prompted local newspaper headlines "Americans transport moon rock 250,000 miles, BR (British Rail) couldn't take it 14 miles from Darlington to Durham" His work on the lunar samples secured his worldwide reputation. Like another

geologist before him,

Kingsley Dunham Sir Kingsley Charles Dunham (2 January 1910 – 5 April 2001) was one of the leading British geologists and mineralogists of the 20th century. He was a Professor of Geology at the Durham University, University of Durham from 1950–71. He was l ...

, Brown was appointed director of the Institute of Geological Sciences in 1979. During a very difficult time for this Government institution, Brown successfully led a move of its

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

from

to a site at

Keyworth Keyworth () is a large Village#United Kingdom, village and civil parish of Nottinghamshire, England. It is located about southeast of the centre of Nottingham. It sits on a small, broad hilltop about 200 feet above sea level which is set in t ...

, near

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, and the start of a new chapter for the institute as the newly-titled 'British Geological Survey'. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

upon retirement in 1985.

Honours

Brown received many awards and honours. He was elected a

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

in 1975. He also received several honorary doctorates from British Universities and was awarded the Murchison Medal 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 ...

. His early work with Lawrence Wager led to publication of ''Layered Igneous Rocks'', which even today remains an influential text.

References

External links

British Geological Survey Archive Catalogue - George Malcolm Brown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, George Malcolm 1925 births 1997 deaths People from Redcar Alumni of University College, Durham Alumni of St Cross College, Oxford Academics of Durham University 20th-century British geologists Harkness Fellows Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor People educated at Coatham School Directors of the British Geological Survey