Sidney Henry Haughton FRS (7 May 1888 – 24 May 1982) was an English-born South African

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

and geologist best known for his description of the

sauropodomorph Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had lo ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

Melanorosaurus ''Melanorosaurus'' (meaning "Black Mountain Lizard", from the Greek ''melas/'', "black", ''oros/'', "mountain" + ''/'', "lizard") is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period. An omnivore from South ...

'' in 1924, and his work on the geology of the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, w ...

. Haughton was born on 7 May 1888 in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

, London. He was the eldest of three children born to Henry Charles Haughton and Alice Aves. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Haughton enlisted with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

, was posted to Egypt and then India, and picked up malaria, leading to his discharge from the army. Whaitsia platyceps Haughton

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 1961. His candidature citation read: "''Honorary Director of Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, Witwatersrand University; formerly Director of the Geological Survey of South Africa and Chief Geologist, South Africa Atomic Energy Board. The outstanding living authority on the geology of South Africa. Distinguished for the value and wide range of contributions to the geology of southern and central Africa especially in the fields of palaeozoology, stratigraphy and

economic geology Economic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be used for economic and industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals and dimension stone, construction-grade stone. Economic geology is a ...

. To the systematic study of Karoo reptiles alone he has devoted 37 papers; other researches contain mollusca, fishes, amphibia and mammalia. Currently is co-ordinating geological studies throughout Africa south of the Sahara. The list of 106 publications is attached.''" Haughton's work on South African geology culminated in the 1964 publication of ''Gold Deposits of the Witwatersrand Basin: The Geology of Some Ore Deposits of Southern Africa'', Volume 1, a collection of 18 papers on Witwatersrand geology.

Publications

*''The stratigraphic history of Africa south of the Sahara'' *''The geology of the country around Mossel bay, Cape Province'' - (Government Printer, 1937) *''The geology of portion of the coastal belt near the Gamtoos valley, Cape Province'' - (Printed in the Union of South Africa by the Government Printer, 1937) *''Results of an investigation into the possible presence of oil in Karroo rocks in parts of the Union of South Africa'' - (Dept. of Mines, 1953) *''Geological history of Southern Africa'' - (Geological Society of South Africa, 1969) *''Trans-Karroo excursion'' - (printed by the Natal witness, 1970) *''The Australopithecine fossils of Africa and their geological setting'' - Witwaterstrand University Press/Institute for the Study of Man in Africa, 1964) *''The stratigraphic history of Africa south of the Sahara'' - (Hafner Pub. Co., 1963) *''The stratigraphic history of Africa south of the Sahara'' - (Oliver & Boyd, 1963) *''The geology of some ore deposits in southern Africa'' - (Geological Society of South Africa, 1964) Open Library
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Gallery

Alopecognathus_minor_Haughton.jpg, Skull of ''Alopecognathus minor'' by Sydney H. Haughton, 1918. Macroscelesaurus janseni Haughton.jpg, Holotype skeleton of ''Macroscelesaurus janseni'' by Sydney H. Haughton, 1918.

References

External links

* Haughton, S. H. (editor) (1964). ''The Geology of Some Ore Deposits in Southern Africa. Gold Deposits of the Witwatersrand Basin'', vol 1. Geological Society of South Africa, 625pp. plus map folder. {{DEFAULTSORT:Haughton, Sidney Henry 1888 births 1982 deaths People from Bethnal Green 20th-century British geologists British palaeontologists Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Geological Society of South Africa Presidents of the Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science British emigrants to South Africa