Levett Landon Boscawen Ibbetson
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Captain Levett Landon Boscawen Ibbetson (1799 – 8 September 1869) was an English 19th century
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, ...
, inventor, organiser and soldier. He is particularly associated with early developments in
photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...
. He was a member of the
London Electrical Society The London Electrical Society was established in 1837 to enable amateur electricians to meet and share their interests in "experimental investigation of Electrical Science in all its various branches". Although it initially flourished the society so ...
and later a
Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
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 ...
(elected 6 June 1850).


Life

From his
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 ...
home (46 Margaret Street, near Cavendish Square), Ibbetson corresponded with
William Henry Fox Talbot William Henry Fox Talbot (; 11 February 180017 September 1877) was an English scientist, inventor, and photography pioneer who invented the Salt print, salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later 19th ...
in 1842, having spent some years trying to produce a
lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...
from an original
daguerrotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839, t ...
, writing "I have been going on with experiments in the Callotype & have had some very good results as to depth of Colour." Ten years later, in 1852, Ibbetson exhibited work produced using the Talbot
calotype Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. Paper texture effects in calotype photography limit the ability of this early process to record low ...
process, called ''Le Premier Livre Imprimè par le Soleil'', at a London Society of Arts exhibition. This book, originally published in 1840, was an album of contact prints of ferns, grasses and flowers and used "the independently invented process of
Friedrich Gerber Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...
of
Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
, published in January 1839, when Ibbetson was residing in Bern." An enthusiastic geologist, one of Ibbetson's finds on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
, the fossilised remains of a ''Hybodus'', was sent to Sir Philip Malpas de Grey Egerton, and was discussed in the Proceedings of the Geological Society in 1845. During the 1840s, Ibbetson was also engaged in various geological surveys associated with the expansion of the British railway system, during which work he corresponded with eminent geologist Henry Thomas De la Beche. He wrote a book, with contributions from
Edwin Lankester Edwin Lankester FRS, FRMS, MRCS (23 April 1814 – 30 October 1874) was an English surgeon and naturalist who made a major contribution to the control of cholera in London: he was the first public analyst in England. Life Edwin Lankester ...
, published around 1852, entitled ''Notes on the geology and chemical composition of the various strata in the Isle of Wight ... With a map in relief''. With Professor
Edward Forbes Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Manx naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainland ...
, he produced a description of the geology between
Blackgang Chine Blackgang Chine is the oldest amusement park in the United Kingdom, having opened in 1843. Named after a now-destroyed chine (a coastal ravine) in the soft Cretaceous cliffs, it is about 6 miles from Ventnor at the southern tip of the Isle of W ...
and Atherfield Point, in the Isle of Wight, for 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 ...
. In 1851, Levett Ibbetson helped manage the
Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...
. At this event, public toilets were relatively novel, and Ibbetson was given the task of writing an 'Official Report on the Waiting Rooms and Washing Places in the Exhibition Building' - during which he recorded "The largest receipt from the Waiting Rooms was on Wednesday, 8 October 1851 when 11,171 persons made use of them". Ibbetson died at Biebrich in
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
, where he had lived for several years. Some years earlier he presented a valuable collection of fossils to the
Museum of Practical Geology The Geological Museum (originally the Museum of Economic Geology then the Museum of Practical Geology) was a museum of geology in London. It started in 1835, making it one of the oldest public single science collections in the world. It transfe ...
in London. His illustration of a fossil, "Transverse section of madrepore" in ''The'' ''Westminster Review'' of September 1840 is credited with being the first example of the use of limelight to shorten exposure times when making daguerreotypes.


Works by L. L. Boscawen Ibbetson

* ''On the Tertiary and Cretaceous Formations of the Isle of Wight'', co-authored with Prof. E. Forbes, 1844 * ''Notes on the Geology and Chemical Composition of the various Strata in the Isle of Wight'', J. Van Voorst, London, 1849


Family

Capt. Levett Landon Boscawen Ibbetson was the son of Sophy and Major Levett Ibbetson, who was son of James Ibbetson. He was the father of Major Henry Levett Boscawen Ibbetson of the
77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot The 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line regiment of the British Army, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cambr ...
of the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. He also served in the
28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot The 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire R ...
. Major Ibbetson lived at
West Teignmouth West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
,
Devon, England Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
.


References


External links

*
1851 Great Exhibition: Official Catalogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibbetson, Levett Landon Boscawen 1799 births 1869 deaths Philanthropists from London Royal Engineers officers Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Geological Society of London 19th-century English geologists British surveyors British inventors 19th-century English writers Pioneers of photography 19th-century British Army personnel