Earth and Environment Atlas

How The Planet Works
Scientists

William Smith

Also Known As William Strata Smith · Father of English Geology
Geologist

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

English geologist credited with creating the first detailed, nationwide geological map of any country, overlooked at first because his humble education and family connections kept him out of learned society. Financially ruined and held for a time in debtors' prison, he received recognition only late in life, becoming known as the father of English geology; the principle of faunal succession carries his stamp from his documentation of it in England in the first decade of the 19th century.

Facts
Birth Date
1769-03-23 1
Birth Year
1769 1
Death Date
1839-08-28 1
Death Year
1839 1
Nationality
English 1
Defining Contribution
Created the first detailed nationwide geological map of any country and documented the principle of faunal succession 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Concepts Credited

Smith documented faunal succession in England during the first decade of the 19th century.

Works In

His documentation of faunal succession is a founding stone of biostratigraphy.

Sources
1. William Smith, Geologist (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Quote, Lead section
was an English geologist, credited with creating the first detailed, nationwide geological map of any country
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.