Robert Andrew Howie (4 June 1923 – 10 March 2012) was a notable English petrologist.

Life

He joined the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

University Six Months course in 1941. He was hoping to go to Cambridge (engineering), but he was assigned to Edinburgh (meteorology). He contracted polio while in Gibraltar, ending his RAF duty. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge (Chemistry, Geology and Mineralogy) after the RAF, graduating in 1950. His doctorate was about

charnockite Charnockite () is any orthopyroxene-bearing quartz-feldspar rock formed at high temperature and pressure, commonly found in granulite facies metamorphic regions, ''sensu stricto'' as an endmember of the charnockite series. Charnockite series The ...

s (very dark granites) from India. He was Lecturer at Manchester University after 1953, and Reader and later Professor at King's College London after 1962. He was appointed Lyell Professor of Geology at Royal Holloway, University of London in 1986. W A Deer, R A Howie and J Zussman authored the series 'Rock-Forming Minerals', a widely known mineralogy textbook (1 ed. had 5 vol., 2 ed. has finally all 11 vol.). He was principal editor of Mineralogical Abstracts (1971–2003), he would write over 1600 abstracts per year (during c. 35 years). The mineral howieite (IMA 1964-017) was named in his honour.

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

awarded him a ScD degree (1974), '

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 ...

' awarded him the

Murchison Medal The Murchison Medal is an academic award established by Roderick Murchison, who died in 1871. First awarded in 1873, it is normally given to people who have made a significant contribution to geology by means of a substantial body of research and ...

(1976) and the

Mineralogical Society of America The Mineralogical Society of America (MSA) is a scientific membership organization. MSA was founded in 1919 for the advancement of mineralogy, crystallography, geochemistry, and petrology, and promotion of their uses in other sciences, industry, ...

awarded him the Public Service Award (1999).

Selected publications

*Deer, William Alexander; Howie, Robert Andrew; Zussman, Jack (1962–1963) Rock-Forming Minerals (1 ed.). London: Longman. Note: 5 volumes. *

Rock-Forming Minerals series, 2 ed.

* * * * * * * * * * *

References

* * * 20th-century British geologists 2012 deaths 1923 births Petrologists Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Murchison Medal winners {{Authority control