Dr Thomas Matthew Finlay

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

EGS (17 September 1879 – 31 January 1954) was a Scottish geologist and palaeontologist.

Life

He was born at Sotrigarth in Sandwick, Shetland on 17 September 1879, the son of Frederick Souis Finlay (1852–1918) and his wife Mary Bruce Smith (1857–1937). The 1891 census indicates he lived with his maternal grandfather, Robert Smith, still in Sotrigarth at that time. He was sent to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1900/1901 and lodged in a tenement at 99 Montgomery Street at the top of

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the east end of the city centre to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the str ...

. Here he attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

graduating with an MA in 1902. He then travelled to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

where he taught in the

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

1903 to 1910, before returning to the University of Edinburgh as a lecturer in

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. In the

First World War 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 ...

he served as an officer in the

Scottish Horse The Scottish Horse was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army's Territorial Army raised in 1900 for service in the Second Boer War. It saw heavy fighting in both the First World War, as the 13th Battalion, Black Watch, and in the World War II, S ...

, being promoted from

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

to second lieutenant in 1915, he was wounded in action in October 1918 at Ledeghem and when discharged he was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. On his return to Edinburgh he began lecturing in

palaeontology 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 geo ...

. He gained a Doctor of Science (DSc) in geology from the University of Edinburgh in 1924. In 1927 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were Thomas James Jehu, Robert Campbell,

John Horne John Horne PRSE FRS FRSE FEGS LLD (1 January 1848 – 30 May 1928) was a Scottish geologist. He served as president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1915 to 1919. Life Horne was born on 1 January 1848, in Campsie, Stirlingshire, the ...

and Murray Macgregor. In 1954 he co-wrote the guidebook ''The complete Scotland : a comprehensive survey, based on the principal motor, walking, railway, and steamer routes'' with the historian J.D. Mackie, Finlay writing the sections on geology and scenery. He died at home in Chalmers Crescent in

on 31 January 1954.

Family

He married Flora Rowan (1879–1949) in

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

in 1914. They had three children: Frederick Henry Rowan Finlay (1915–1973); Margaret Haddow Finlay (1917–1958); and Robert Finlay (1923–1979).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, Thomas Matthew 1879 births 1954 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish geologists Scottish non-fiction writers People from Shetland