Sir Joseph Prestwich (12 March 1812 – 23 June 1896) was a British

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 businessman, known as an expert on the

Tertiary Period The Tertiary ( ) is an obsolete Period (geology), geologic period spanning 66 million to 2.6 or 1.8 million years ago. The period began with the extinction of the non-bird, avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at t ...

and for having confirmed the findings of Boucher de Perthes of ancient flint tools in the Somme valley gravel beds.

Biography

Born in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

, Prestwich was educated in Paris and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

before entering

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

where he studied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and natural philosophy. Whilst a student he founded the short-lived Zetetical Society. In 1830, he began working for the family wine business. This job required him to travel throughout the United Kingdom and also abroad to France and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and during the course of these travels he made many geological observations. He became a Fellow of

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 ...

in 1833 and published his first paper there two years later. His 1836 memoir on the ''Geology of

Coalbrookdale Coalbrookdale is a town in the Ironbridge Gorge and the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called The Gorge, Shro ...

'', based upon observations made during 1831 and 1832, established his reputation as a geologist. From 1846, his attention focused upon the

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

deposits of the

London Basin The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea. The basin formed as a result of compr ...

, which he subsequently classified and then correlated with Tertiary deposits throughout England, France and Belgium. In 1858, Prestwich was persuaded by

Hugh Falconer Hugh Falconer MD FRS (29 February 1808 – 31 January 1865) was a Scottish geologist, botanist, palaeontologist, and paleoanthropologist. He studied the flora, fauna, and geology of India, Assam, Burma, and most of the Mediterranean island ...

to visit

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

, where Boucher de Perthes had claimed to have found

flint tools Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistory, prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or Lithic reduction, knapped stone, ...

in the gravel deposits of the valley of the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

, thus establishing the antiquity of man. In company with Sir John Evans, Prestwich visited the gravel beds of St Acheul and confirmed the observations of Boucher de Perthes. Prestwich's report on the matter was published in the '' Proceedings of the Royal Society'' for 1859-1860: It is claimed by some authorities that this publication marks the birth of modern scientific

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

During the late 1860s, Prestwich served on the Royal Coal Commission and the Royal Commission on the Metropolitan Water Supply. In 1870–72, he was president of the Geological Society. In 1874, he was appointed to the chair of geology at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...

. Here he produced in two volumes ''Geology, Chemical and Physical, Stratigraphical and Palaeontological''. In 1888, he retired from Oxford to

Shoreham, Kent Shoreham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 5.2 miles north of Sevenoaks. The probable derivation of the name is ''estate at the foot of a steep slope''. Steep slo ...

where he continued to work until his death in 1896. Prestwich 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 1853, awarded its

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 are given for "the mo ...

in 1865, awarded a Telford Medal for a paper entitled "On the Geological Conditions affecting the Construction of a Tunnel between England and France", in 1873. He was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1869. Knighted in 1896, he married Grace Anne McCall, the niece of

, in 1870.

Notes

References

* "Obituary Notices of Fellows Deceased", ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', Volume 60. (1896—1897), pp. ''i—xxxv''.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prestwich, Joseph 1812 births 1896 deaths People from Clapham People from Shoreham, Kent English geologists Alumni of University College London Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Geological Society of London Wollaston Medal winners Academics of the University of Oxford Knights Bachelor Royal Medal winners Presidents of the Geological Society of London International members of the American Philosophical Society