Henry Benedict Medlicott
Encyclopedia
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
who worked in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Early life
He was born in LoughreaLoughrea
Loughrea is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains.The town expanded in recent years as it increasingly becomes a commuter town for the city of Galway.- Name :...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the son of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
Rector of Loughrea, Samuel Medlicott (1796–1858) and his wife Charlotte (c.1814-1884), daughter of Henry Benedict Dolphin, C. B. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
as well as in France, Guernsey, and Dublin. He obtained a BA in 1850 with diploma in honours in the School of Civil Engineering and an MA in 1870. He was an expert in French and was acquainted with the works of the French geologists.
Career and later life
He joined the Geological Survey of IrelandGeological Survey of Ireland
The Geological Survey of Ireland was founded in 1845. It is part of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. It is based in Beggars Bush Barracks in Dublin. Its multidisciplinary staff work in sections such as Groundwater, Bedrock, Quaternary/Geotechnical, Heritage, Marine...
in 1851 and in 1853 joined the British Geological Survey
British Geological Survey
The British Geological Survey is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. The BGS headquarters are in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, but other centres...
working with Mr Aveline in Wiltshire. He was later engaged by Dr. Thomas Oldham
Thomas Oldham
Thomas Oldham was a Anglo-Irish geologist.He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and studied civil engineering at the University of Edinburgh as well as geology under Robert Jameson....
and joined the Indian Geological Survey that was working in the Rajmahal Hills near Bhagalpur. In August 1854 left England for India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
where he became professor of geology at the University of Roorkee and remained there until October 1862. While at Roorkee, he studied parts of the Narmada Valley and Bundelkhand (in 1854-55, 1856–57). He worked on the geology of the Lower Himalayas and the Siwalik Beds. In 1857 he served as a volunteer with the garrison of Roorkee against the mutineers and was awarded the Indian Mutiny Medal for Special Service.
On October 27, 1857 he married Louisa Maunsell in Landour. Louisa was the daughter of the Reverend Daniel Henry Maunsell, Vicar of Balbriggan
Balbriggan
Balbriggan is a town in the northern part of the administrative county of Fingal, within County Dublin, Ireland. The 2006 census population was 15,559 for Balbriggan and its environs.- Name :...
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
. He has had three sons and three daughters.
He worked initially with his brother Joseph G. Medlicott
Joseph G. Medlicott
Joseph G. Medlicott was a geologist and General Assistant with the Geological Survey of Ireland. He studied the geology of India.-Background:...
and his first achievement was in separating the Cambrian Vindhyan region from the Gondwana. He worked in various parts of the country such as South Rewa, Bihar, Assam, Khasi Hills, Rajputana, Kashmir, the Satpura ranges and the Garo Hills. On 1 April 1876 he succeeded Dr Oldham to head the Department of Geology and was posted in Calcutta. The position was changed from Superintendent to Director in 1885. He is credited with having suggested the name Gondwana for the supercontinent in the year 1872.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1877 and won the Wollaston Medal
Wollaston Medal
The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London.The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831...
of the Geological Society in 1888. He was a Fellow of Calcutta University, and from 1879 to 1881 he was President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. His obituarist Blanford notes that he never used "FRS" after his name in any publications.
He wrote Manual of the Geology of India with William Thomas Blanford
William Thomas Blanford
William Thomas Blanford was an English geologist and naturalist. He is best remembered as the editor of a major series on The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma.-Biography:Blanford was born in London...
in 1879 as well as edited works in the Paleontologica Indica.