Great Geologists | 25
made their contribution to the science. There is a famous quote
by the great British geologist H.H. Reid: “The best geologist is
the one who has seen the most rocks”. Smith spent almost his
whole life gathering geological data and putting it to practical
use. Moreover, by doing do he greatly advanced geology as a
science.
REFERENCES
This essay has drawn upon information from the following
sources:
Adams, F.D. 1938. The Birth and Development of the Geological
Sciences. Williams & Wilkins.
Morton, J.L. 2007. William Smith: the father of English geology.
In: Huxley, R. (ed.) The Great Naturalists. Thames & Hudson,
218-223.
Oldroyd, D.R. 1996. Thinking About the Earth. The Athlone
Press, 410pp.
Rudwick, M.J.S. 1972. The Meaning of Fossils. The University
of Chicago Press, 287pp.
Rudwick, M.J.S. 2005. Bursting the Limits of Time. The
University of Chicago Press, 708pp.
Torrens, H.S. 2001. Timeless order: William Smith (1769-1839)
and the search for raw materials 1800-1820. In: Lewis, C.L.E.
& Knell, S.J. (eds.) The Age of the Earth: from 4004 BC to AD
2002. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 190,
61-84.
Winchester, S. 2001. The Map that Changed the World. Viking.
Detail of Smith’s 1815 geological map of England, Wales and southern
Scotland.
Cross-section across southern England that accompanies Smith’s 1815 map.