WILLIAM SMITH (GEOLOGIST): BIOGRAPHY AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

William Smith (1769 - 1839) was an English geologist, author of the first geological map of the island of Great Britain. Despite the fact that his education was largely self-taught, because he did not come from a wealthy family, he is considered the father of English geology. ^one

He is the creator of the Principle of Faunal Succession. In this it is proposed that the fossil content of the sedimented rocks presents variations vertically, while horizontally groups with similar characteristics can be identified. ^two

By Hugues Fourau (1803-1873) (Scanned form the Geoscientist v 18, n 11), via Wikimedia Commons

This principle would serve to cement Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, since it shows that there is biological irreversibility in species.

Recognition did not come immediately for the work of William Smith. He was even imprisoned for a time in a debtors' prison in London. ³ It was at the end of his life that his work received the acceptance and respect of the scientific society of his time.

Biography

Early years

William Smith was born on March 23, 1769, in Churchill, Oxforshire, England. His origins were humble, as he was the son of a cattle blacksmith who died when he was just seven years old.

His uncle, a farmer, took over Smith after his father's death. She attended the village school, although much of her learning was self-taught. He bought his own books to conduct research on subjects of interest to him and collected fossils from the area. ⁴

In 1787 Smith became the assistant to surveyor Edward Webb, who was impressed by the young man's abilities. While in charge of Webb, Smith traveled through the county of Gloucestershire in England and kept learning about the local geology. ⁵

Somerset Coal Channels

By 1791 Webb helped Smith settle in the Somestershire district. At that time the Somerset Coal Channel projects were underway and Smith quickly became involved. ⁶

In 1793 Smith was commissioned to survey the terrain and a leveling system for the proposed canal. It was then that Smith noticed the regular succession of rocky strata in the area between Littleton High, where he resided, and Bath. ⁷

This project led him to tour England with the company that made the canal. The purpose of his trips was to know the work that was being done in other channels. Thanks to this he was able to expand his observations of the soil initiated in Somerset.

His work with the Somerset Canal Company ended in 1799. ^{8 He} then began working as a geological engineer and in 1804 he moved to London. In these years he devoted himself to creating maps of the island and studying its geology and topography.

Financial failure

William Smith undertook several failed projects, contracted mortgages, and turned to moneylenders, which left him in a very compromised financial situation.

One of the businesses that Smith attempted to run was a quarry in Bath. But this did not produce the expected profits, which generated a debt to his partner Charles Conolly. His property was part of the mortgage, but it did not cover the entire amount of the debt. ⁹

To try to settle his commitments, Smith sold his fossil collection to the British Museum for £ 700. ¹⁰ However, he still lacked £ 300 to pay off the debt. So Smith was sent to King's Bench Prison, a debtors' prison in London, for 10 weeks.

After this his house in the capital was finished and Smith was forced to work in an itinerant way for several years. Until Sir John Johnstone appointed him administrator of his lands at Hackness near Scarborough.

There he would be responsible for the design of the Geological Museum of La Rotunda. This circular building exhibits a vast collection of fossils from the Yorkshire area and was opened in 1829. ¹¹

Late recognition

In 1831 the Geological Society of London conferred on William Smith the first Wollaston Medal, the highest honor to English geologists, for his achievements in the field. Since then he would be known as the "father of English geology". ¹²

Then in 1835 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.

He was also one of those in charge of selecting the building stones for the Palace of Wenstminster after the fire. ¹³

Death

William Smith died in Northampton on August 28, 1839. ¹⁴

Contributions to science

Principle of faunal succession

In his studies of the soil, William Smith found that the fossil content in the rocks of the various strata varies vertically in order, while it remains horizontal.

That is, in rocks of different ages, paleobiologically different fossils are found. This is called vertical variation. ¹⁵ While in rocks of the same age, similar fossils are found in remote areas in a horizontal organization.

This means that no remains of species that have not lived together in the same period of time will be found in the same stratum. Consequently, a species that has become extinct does not reappear.

First geological map of Great Britain

Thanks to his travels throughout the island, he managed to study its geology and in 1815 he published the geological map of Great Britain. This was the first map to cover such a vast area in detail. ¹⁶

He used conventional symbols for canals, tunnels, trams, and mines. In addition, he added colors to represent different types of geology and included drawings showing the successions of strata and altitude.

The novelty of his work was that he was able to show the relationship between relief, rocks and their structure. That same year he published his Delineation of the Stratum in England.

In 1817 he drew a three-dimensional relationship between geology and landscape, showing the topography on the portion of land between London and Snowdon. This is recognized as the first block diagram, which is now commonly used in geography books and animations. ¹⁷

These studies gave him the title of founder of Stratigraphy. However, Smith always spoke publicly about his work, even before publishing it, so his knowledge was already shared among geologists of the time.

References

1. Phillips, John (1844). Memoirs of William Smith (First ed.). London: John Murray. p. two.
2. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Principle of faunal succession. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
3. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). William Smith (geologist). Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
4. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). William Smith - British geologist. Available at: britannica.com.
5. Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. (2018). William Smith: Father of English Geology. Available at: brlsi.org.
6. Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. (2018). William Smith: Father of English Geology. Available at: brlsi.org.
7. Phillips, John (1844). Memoirs of William Smith (First ed.). London: John Murray. p. 8.
8. Phillips, John (1844). Memoirs of William Smith (First ed.). London: John Murray. p. 26.
9. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). William Smith (geologist). Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
10. Eyles, Joan (1967). "William Smith: The sale of his geological collection to the British museum". Annals of Science. 23 (3): 177–212.
11. Scarborough Museums Trust. (2018). Rotunda Museum - Scarborough Museums Trust. Available at: scarboroughmuseumstrust.com.
12. Geolsoc.org.uk. (2018). The Geological Society of London - Wollaston Medal. Available at: geolsoc.org.uk.
13. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). William Smith (geologist). Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
14. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). William Smith - British geologist. Available at: britannica.com.
15. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Principle of faunal succession. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
16. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). William Smith (geologist). Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
17. Strata-smith.com. (2018). SMITH MAPS IN THREE DIMENSIONS - William Smith's Maps - Interactive. Available at: strata-smith.com.