Great Geologists | 37
from across Britain and Europe that these
deposits were not synchronous in age and
represented multiple depositional events.
He happily stated this in his Geological
Society presidential address, a noteworthy
recantation that demonstrated clerical
geologists were not bound to literal biblical
interpretations to explain the geological
observations they made.
Thus, he became increasingly opposed
to the scriptural geologists of his time
who interpreted geological phenomena
as expressions of biblical history. The
debates between the two parties could be
quite bitter. William Cockburn, the Dean
of York Cathedral and a leading scriptural
geologist, did nothing to quell the animosity
between the two sides when he titled his
1849 book A New System of Geology:
Dedicated to Professor Sedgwick. Cockburn
was still stung by a debate in 1844, at a
meeting of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, where Sedgwick
defended modern geology, which
Cockburn described as “unscriptural.” The
proceedings of this acrimonious event were
reported in the national press, marking
a key moment in the conflict between
scripture and science.
Whilst Sedgwick envisaged a very ancient
Earth (i.e. many millions of years old), he
was a staunch opponent of evolution,
fearing that it would “undermine the
whole moral and social fabric of society.”
How ironic that it was Sedgwick who was
selected to give Darwin a crash course in
geology before he set sail on HMS Beagle
and whose solid grounding in making
geological observations led Darwin to
develop his ideas of natural selection!
Sedgwick was appalled when On the Origin
of Species was published. He wrote to
Darwin: “I have read your book with more
pain than pleasure. Parts I laughed at till my
sides were sore; others I read with absolute
sorrow, because I think them utterly false
and grievously mischievous”. Despite
the harsh language, the two remained on
friendly terms for the rest of Sedgwick’s
life.
The village of Dent, Sedgwick’s birthplace. In the right foreground is a large granite
monument in his name. Dent is surrounded by spectacular scenery, mostly reflecting cyclic
deposition of Carboniferous sediments. However, it was not until 1830 that Sedgwick
described the geology of his home town region.
At Cambridge, Sedgwick did not neglect
the specific obligations of his post as
Woodwardian Professor. He ensured that
the entire collection of John Woodward
was purchased (almost 10,000 specimens
in total) and began expanding the collection,
including the purchase of ichthyosaur
skeletons from Mary Anning. These
materials would form the core of a new
museum at Cambridge, opened in 1904
and named in Sedgwick’s honour after
his death. Today, the museum houses
a collection approaching two million
specimens of rocks, fossils and minerals
and includes specimens collected by
Charles Darwin during his voyage aboard
the Beagle.
Sedgwick lived to reach 87 and continued
his celebrated lectures at the university
until he was 85. As well as the museum
in his name, his legacy also lives on in
the Sedgwick Club, the oldest student-
run geological society in the world. His
lecture notes read, “I cannot promise to
teach you all geology; I can only fire your
imaginations”.
REFERENCES
This essay has drawn upon information
from the following sources:
Clark, J.W. & Hughes, T.M. 1890. The
Life and Letters of the Reverend Adam
Sedgwick. Cambridge University Press.
Hallam, A. 1983. Great Geological
Controversies. Oxford University Press,
244pp.
Park, C. 2017. Wedded to the Rocks.
Chris Park, 329pp.
Rudwick, M.J.S. 1972. The Meaning of
Fossils. The University of Chicago Press,
287pp.
Secord, J.A. 1986. Controversy in
Victorian Geology: The Cambrian-Silurian
Dispute. Princeton University Press,
363pp.
Speakman, C. 1982. Adam Sedgwick.
The Broad Oak Press, 145pp.