Lucas Barrett
Encyclopedia
Lucas Barrett was an English
naturalist
and geologist
.
Barrett was born in London
and educated at University College School
and at Ebersdorf
. In 1855, he accompanied R. McAndrew on a dredging excursion from the Shetland Islands
to Norway
and beyond the Arctic Circle
; and subsequently made other cruises to Greenland
and to the coast of Spain. These expeditions laid the foundations of an extensive knowledge of the distribution of marine life.
In 1855, he was engaged by Sedgwick
to assist in the Woodwardian Museum at Cambridge
, and during the following three years he aided the professor by delivering lectures. He discovered bones of bird
s in the Cambridge Greensand
, and he also prepared a geological map of Cambridge on the one-inch Ordnance map. In 1859, when twenty-two years of age, he was appointed director of the Geological Survey of Jamaica. He there determined the Cretaceous
age of certain rocks which contained Hippurites
, the new genus Barrettia being named after him by S. P. Woodward; he also obtained many fossils from the Miocene
and newer strata
. He was drowned at the early age of twenty-five, while investigating the sea-bottom off Kingston, Jamaica
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and 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...
.
Barrett was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and educated at University College School
University College School
University College School, generally known as UCS, is an Independent school charity situated in Hampstead, north west London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views...
and at Ebersdorf
Ebersdorf
Ebersdorf may refer to the following places:*Ebersdorf bei Coburg, in the district of Coburg, Bavaria, Germany*Ebersdorf, Lower Saxony, in the district of Rotenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany*Ebersdorf, Austria, in the district of Hartberg, Styria, Austria...
. In 1855, he accompanied R. McAndrew on a dredging excursion from the Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and beyond the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
; and subsequently made other cruises to Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and to the coast of Spain. These expeditions laid the foundations of an extensive knowledge of the distribution of marine life.
In 1855, he was engaged by Sedgwick
Adam Sedgwick
Adam Sedgwick was one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Devonian period of the geological timescale...
to assist in the Woodwardian Museum at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, and during the following three years he aided the professor by delivering lectures. He discovered bones of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in the Cambridge Greensand
Cambridge Greensand
The Cambridge Greensand is a geological formation in England whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.-Vertebrate paleofauna:...
, and he also prepared a geological map of Cambridge on the one-inch Ordnance map. In 1859, when twenty-two years of age, he was appointed director of the Geological Survey of Jamaica. He there determined the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
age of certain rocks which contained Hippurites
Hippurites
Hippurites is an extinct genus of bivalve mollusk from the Late Cretaceous of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.-References:* in the Paleobiology Database* Fossils by David Ward...
, the new genus Barrettia being named after him by S. P. Woodward; he also obtained many fossils from the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
and newer strata
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
. He was drowned at the early age of twenty-five, while investigating the sea-bottom off Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
.