Mabel Elizabeth Tomlinson (1893 – 1978) was an English geologist and teacher. She published on the geological history of the Avon Valley, and was an influential geology teacher who supported the teaching of geology in schools.

Early life and education

She was born in

Polesworth Polesworth is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. It is situated close to the northern tip of the county, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire. It is eas ...

North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough includes the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and Coleshill, and the large villages of Hartshill, Kingsbury, Ma ...

in 1893 to two teachers at Polesworth School, Frederick and Hannah Tomlinson. Her father (the headmaster) appointed himself geography teacher and led geological expeditions. Educated at Polesworth School, Mabel gained a BA in Combined Arts from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in 1916. She later returned there to gain a BSc in Geology.

Teaching

In 1917, Tomlinson began teaching at Yardley Grammar School, Birmingham, where she would continue to teach until 1959. She and her father accompanied the school when it was evacuated to

Lydney Lydney is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the west bank of the River Severn in the Forest of Dean District, and is 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Gloucester. The town has been Bypass ( ...

World War II 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 ...

. She introduced geology to the school as a subject in 1943 and was promoted to Senior Mistress and Deputy Head in 1954. At the school, she was affectionately known as 'Doc Tom.' Former students commented on her enthusiasm for the subject resulting in many 'Yardleians' going on to a career in geology. Her students included Keeper of Palaeontology Harold Ball; Walter Mykura;

Keith O'Nions Sir Robert Keith O'Nions (born 26 September 1944), is a British scientist and ex-President & Rector of Imperial College London. He is the former Director General of the Research Councils UK as well as Professor of the Physics and Chemistry of Mi ...

; and Chris Sands, who became one of her successors. In the early 1940s, Tomlinson drew up the syllabus for a geology course for the Higher School Certificate, and was on the national committee introducing it onto school curricula. She continued to promote the teaching of geology in schools, giving reports on it to the British Association in 1949 and 1962.

Geological research

Alongside her teaching job, Mabel carried out research on the geological history of the Avon, carrying out fieldwork on bicycle trips. Her work was submitted for the degrees of MSc (1923) and DSc (1936). She gave her first paper to 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 1924, the year after she was admitted as a Fellow. One of her most significant papers came in 1925 when she established a relative chronology for the valley's glacial deposits based on river terraces, and correlated the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

deposits of the Avon with some in the east of England. The Geological Society granted Mabel the Lyell Fund in 1927 and the R.H. Worth Prize in 1961. She gave the Henry Stopes lecture that year.

Death and legacy

Mabel died in September 1978. In 2004–5, the Tomlinson-Brown Trust was established in the name of Mabel and her successor Geoff Brown by their former students to promote young people’s awareness of earth sciences.

References

External links

Mabel Elizabeth Tomlinson
at the Geological Society archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlinson, Mabel Elizabeth 1893 births 1978 deaths Alumni of the University of Birmingham 20th-century British women educators 20th-century British women scientists English women geologists Fellows of the Geological Society of London People from the Borough of North Warwickshire English schoolteachers