Richard John Griffith
Encyclopedia
Sir Richard John Griffith (20 September 1784 – 22 September 1878), was an Irish
geologist
, mining engineer and chairman of the Board of Works of Ireland, who completed the first complete geological map of Ireland and was author of the valuation of Ireland - known ever since as Griffith's Valuation
.
, Dublin, Ireland
. In 1799 he obtained a commission in the Royal Irish Artillery
, but a year later, when the corps was incorporated with that of England
, he retired, and devoted his attention to civil engineering
and mining
. He studied chemistry, mineralogy and mining for two years in London under William Nicholson
, and afterwards examined the mining districts in various parts of England, Wales
and Scotland
.
While in Cornwall
he discovered ores of nickel
and cobalt
in material that had been rejected as worthless. He completed his studies under Robert Jameson
and others at Edinburgh, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
in 1807, a member of the newly established Geological Society of London
in 1808, and in the same year he returned to Ireland.
In 1809, he was appointed by the commissioners to inquire into the nature and extent of the bogs in Ireland, and the means of improving them. In 1812 he was elected Professor of Geology and Mining Engineer to the Royal Dublin Society
. Shortly afterwards he expressed his intention of preparing a geological map of Ireland. During subsequent years he made many surveys and issued many reports on mineral districts in Ireland, and these formed the foundation of his first geological map of the country (1815). He also succeeded Dr. Richard Kirwan as government inspector of mines in Ireland. In 1822 Griffith became engineer of public works in Cork
, Kerry
and Limerick
, and was occupied until 1830 in repairing old roads and in laying out many miles of new roads in some of the most inaccessible parts of the country.
Meanwhile in 1825, he was appointed by the government to carry out a boundary survey of Ireland. He was to mark the boundaries of every county, barony, civil parish and townland in preparation for the first Ordnance Survey
. He was also called upon to assist in the preparation of a parliamentary Bill to provide for the general valuation of Ireland. This Act was passed in 1826, and he was appointed Commissioner of Valuation in 1827, but did not start work until 1830 when the new 6" maps became available from the Ordnance survey and which he was required to use as provided for by statute. He continued to work on this until 1868. On Griffith's valuation
the various local and public assessments were made.
His extensive investigations furnished him with ample material for improving his geological map, and the second edition was published in 1835. A third edition on a larger scale (1 in. to 4 m.) was issued under the Board of Ordnance
in 1839, and it was further revised in 1855. For this great work and his other services to science he was awarded the Wollaston medal
by the Geological Society in 1854. In 1850 he was made chairman of the Irish Board of Works, and in 1858 he was created a baronet.
He died at his residence, 2 Fitzwilliam Place in Dublin, on 22 September 1878 in his 95th year. At the time of his death, he was the oldest surviving fellow of the Geological Society of London and was the last survivor of the long-since disbanded Royal Irish Regiment of Artillery. He was buried alongside his wife, Maria Jane (née Waldie m. 21 Sept 1812) in Mount Jerome Cemetery
, Harold's Cross, Dublin; on his grave is the epitaph: Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, Serving the Lord.
See memoirs in Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. xxxv. 39; and Geol. Mag., 1878, p. 524, with bibliography.
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...
, mining engineer and chairman of the Board of Works of Ireland, who completed the first complete geological map of Ireland and was author of the valuation of Ireland - known ever since as Griffith's Valuation
Griffith's valuation
Griffith's Valuation was a survey of Ireland completed in 1868. -Griffith's background:Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examination of its soils...
.
Biography
Griffith was born in Hume StreetHume Street, Dublin
Hume Street is a street in central Dublin located between Ely Place and St. Stephen's Green. It is named after the family of surgeon Sir Gustavus Hume....
, Dublin, 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...
. In 1799 he obtained a commission in the Royal Irish Artillery
Royal Irish Artillery
The Royal Irish Artillery was an Irish regiment of the British army in the 18th century. It was formed in 1755 as The Artillery Company of Ireland. The name was changed in 1760 to The Royal Regiment of Irish Artillery...
, but a year later, when the corps was incorporated with that of England
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...
, he retired, and devoted his attention to civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
and mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. He studied chemistry, mineralogy and mining for two years in London under William Nicholson
William Nicholson (chemist)
William Nicholson was a renowned English chemist and writer on "natural philosophy" and chemistry, as well as a translator, journalist, publisher, scientist, and inventor.-Early life:...
, and afterwards examined the mining districts in various parts of England, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
While in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
he discovered ores of nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
and cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
in material that had been rejected as worthless. He completed his studies under Robert Jameson
Robert Jameson
thumb|Robert JamesonProfessor Robert Jameson, FRS FRSE was a Scottish naturalist and mineralogist.As Regius Professor at the University of Edinburgh for fifty years, Jameson is notable for his advanced scholarship in natural history, his superb museum collection, and for his tuition of Charles...
and others at Edinburgh, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
in 1807, a member of the newly established Geological Society of London
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
in 1808, and in the same year he returned to Ireland.
In 1809, he was appointed by the commissioners to inquire into the nature and extent of the bogs in Ireland, and the means of improving them. In 1812 he was elected Professor of Geology and Mining Engineer to the Royal Dublin Society
Royal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge in Dublin, Ireland...
. Shortly afterwards he expressed his intention of preparing a geological map of Ireland. During subsequent years he made many surveys and issued many reports on mineral districts in Ireland, and these formed the foundation of his first geological map of the country (1815). He also succeeded Dr. Richard Kirwan as government inspector of mines in Ireland. In 1822 Griffith became engineer of public works in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
and Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, and was occupied until 1830 in repairing old roads and in laying out many miles of new roads in some of the most inaccessible parts of the country.
Meanwhile in 1825, he was appointed by the government to carry out a boundary survey of Ireland. He was to mark the boundaries of every county, barony, civil parish and townland in preparation for the first Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
. He was also called upon to assist in the preparation of a parliamentary Bill to provide for the general valuation of Ireland. This Act was passed in 1826, and he was appointed Commissioner of Valuation in 1827, but did not start work until 1830 when the new 6" maps became available from the Ordnance survey and which he was required to use as provided for by statute. He continued to work on this until 1868. On Griffith's valuation
Griffith's valuation
Griffith's Valuation was a survey of Ireland completed in 1868. -Griffith's background:Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examination of its soils...
the various local and public assessments were made.
His extensive investigations furnished him with ample material for improving his geological map, and the second edition was published in 1835. A third edition on a larger scale (1 in. to 4 m.) was issued under the Board of Ordnance
Board of Ordnance
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the Royal Navy and British Army. It was also responsible for providing artillery trains for armies and maintaining coastal fortresses and, later, management of the artillery and engineer...
in 1839, and it was further revised in 1855. For this great work and his other services to science he was awarded 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...
by the Geological Society in 1854. In 1850 he was made chairman of the Irish Board of Works, and in 1858 he was created a baronet.
He died at his residence, 2 Fitzwilliam Place in Dublin, on 22 September 1878 in his 95th year. At the time of his death, he was the oldest surviving fellow of the Geological Society of London and was the last survivor of the long-since disbanded Royal Irish Regiment of Artillery. He was buried alongside his wife, Maria Jane (née Waldie m. 21 Sept 1812) in Mount Jerome Cemetery
Mount Jerome Cemetery
Mount Jerome Cemetery is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials...
, Harold's Cross, Dublin; on his grave is the epitaph: Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, Serving the Lord.
Publications
- Outline of the Geology of Ireland (1838)
- Notice respecting the Fossils of the Mountain Limestone of Ireland, as compared with those of Great Britain, and also with the Devonian System (1842)
- A Synopsis of the Characters of the Carboniferous Limestone Fossils of Ireland (1844) (with F McCoyFrederick McCoySir Frederick McCoy, KCMG, FRS was an Irish palaeontologist and museum administrator, active in Australia.-Early life:McCoy was the son of Dr Simon McCoy, M.D. and was born in Dublin; some sources have his year of birth as 1823, but 1817 is the most likely...
) - A Synopsis of the Silurian Fossils of Ireland (1846) (with F McCoy)
See memoirs in Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. xxxv. 39; and Geol. Mag., 1878, p. 524, with bibliography.