William Johnson Sollas
Encyclopedia
William Johnson Sollas FRS (30 May 1849 - 20 October 1936) was a British geologist and anthropologist. After studying at the City of London School
, the Royal College of Chemistry
and the Royal School of Mines
he matriculated to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he was awarded First Class Honours in geology. After some time spent as a University Extension lecturer he became Lecturer in Geology and Zoology at University College, Bristol
in 1879, where he stayed until he was offered the post of Professor of Geology at Trinity College, Dublin
. In 1897 he was offered the post of Professor of Geology at the University of Oxford
, which he accepted.
Considered "one of the last true geological polymaths", Sollas worked in a number of areas including the study of sponges, brachiopod
s and petrological research, and during his lifetime published 180 papers and wrote three books. His biggest contribution at Oxford was in expanding the University geology department, hiring new Demonstrators and Lecturers and expanding the facilities available to students. Described as "eccentric" in his final years, he left much of the running of the Department to J.A. Douglas while he concentrated on research, finally dying in office on 20 October 1936.
, where he first became interested in chemistry, and from there moved on to the Royal College of Chemistry
in 1865, spending two years working with Sir Edward Frankland
, and in 1867 gained a scholarship to study at the Royal School of Mines
. There he came under the influence of scientists such as Warington Wilkinson Smyth
and Thomas Henry Huxley, later saying "I owe [Huxley] more, both morally and intellectually, than to any other I can name". After becoming an Associate of the Royal School of Mines he competed with William Garnett for chemistry scholarships at St. John's College, Cambridge; they were both accepted. At Cambridge Sollas was taught by Thomas George Bonney
, who persuaded him to switch to geology, which he did, gaining First Class Honours in the Natural Sciences Tripos
in 1873.
. In 1880 he was made Professor of Geology. In 1883 Sollas left Bristol to take up a position as Professor of Geology at Trinity College, Dublin
, where he remained until he was made Professor of Geology at the University of Oxford
in 1897. At Oxford his main contribution was significantly expanding the Geology department, appointing new demonstrators and lecturers and employing his own daughters as unpaid research assistants. At the same time he did research in a variety of fields, and was described as "one of the last true geological polymaths".
In his later years Sollas became increasingly eccentric, and left much of the running of the Department to his Demonstrator, J.A. Douglas while he concentrated on research. He finally died on 20 October 1936, still in office. After his death Douglas attempted to link him to the Piltdown Man
hoax.
, which he began working on when studying at the University of Cambridge
. He published nine papers on the formation, mainly on the sponges, and for his work was awarded the Wollaston Medal
in 1878. From 1878 until 1889 he dedicated his research work entirely to sponges and fossils, publishing a series of papers and reports on new species. In 1887 he wrote an article on phylum
for the Encyclopædia Britannica
. His work on sponges led him to investigate their physical structure, and from there the makeup of chalk
.
At Bristol he worked in palaeontology, describing a new species of plesiosaurus
, but also published papers on the geological makeup of Bristol and the Silesian fossils near the Welsh border. After moving to Dublin he worked on foraminifera
and brachiopod
s, before switching to petrological work. His first major paper was on the granite of Leinster
, where he conducted a detailed chemical analysis of the rock and invented the diffusion column to assist in this. In 1896 he travelled to the Pacific Ocean to investigate the formation of the Funafuti
coral atoll, drawing inconclusive results. In 1905 he published the collection of essays The Age of the Earth, and in 1911 an anthropological work Ancient Hunters and their Modern Representatives.
In 1889 Sollas became a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was awarded the Royal Medal
in 1914. From 1908 to 1910 he served as president of the Geological Society of London
, who awarded him the Bigsby Medal
in 1893 and the Wollaston Medal
in 1907.
City of London School
The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...
, the Royal College of Chemistry
Royal College of Chemistry
The Royal College of Chemistry was a college originally based on Oxford Street in central London, England. It operated between 1845 and 1872....
and the Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London.- History :The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts...
he matriculated to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he was awarded First Class Honours in geology. After some time spent as a University Extension lecturer he became Lecturer in Geology and Zoology at University College, Bristol
University College, Bristol
University College, Bristol was an educational institution which existed from 1876 to 1909. It was the predecessor institution to the University of Bristol, which gained a Royal Charter in 1909...
in 1879, where he stayed until he was offered the post of Professor of Geology 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...
. In 1897 he was offered the post of Professor of Geology at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, which he accepted.
Considered "one of the last true geological polymaths", Sollas worked in a number of areas including the study of sponges, brachiopod
Brachiopod
Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection...
s and petrological research, and during his lifetime published 180 papers and wrote three books. His biggest contribution at Oxford was in expanding the University geology department, hiring new Demonstrators and Lecturers and expanding the facilities available to students. Described as "eccentric" in his final years, he left much of the running of the Department to J.A. Douglas while he concentrated on research, finally dying in office on 20 October 1936.
Early life and education
Sollas was born in Birmingham on 30 May 1849 to William Henry Sollas, a ship owner, and his wife Emma Wheatley. He was educated at the City of London SchoolCity of London School
The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...
, where he first became interested in chemistry, and from there moved on to the Royal College of Chemistry
Royal College of Chemistry
The Royal College of Chemistry was a college originally based on Oxford Street in central London, England. It operated between 1845 and 1872....
in 1865, spending two years working with Sir Edward Frankland
Edward Frankland
Sir Edward Frankland, KCB, FRS was a chemist, one of the foremost of his day. He was an expert in water quality and analysis, and originated the concept of combining power, or valence, in chemistry. He was also one of the originators of organometallic chemistry.-Biography:Edward Frankland was born...
, and in 1867 gained a scholarship to study at the Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London.- History :The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts...
. There he came under the influence of scientists such as Warington Wilkinson Smyth
Warington Wilkinson Smyth
Sir Warington Wilkinson Smyth was a British geologist.-Biography:Smyth was born at Naples, the son of Admiral W. H. Smyth and his wife Annarella Warington. His father was engaged in the Admiralty Survey of the Mediterranean at the time of his birth. Smyth was educated at Westminster and...
and Thomas Henry Huxley, later saying "I owe [Huxley] more, both morally and intellectually, than to any other I can name". After becoming an Associate of the Royal School of Mines he competed with William Garnett for chemistry scholarships at St. John's College, Cambridge; they were both accepted. At Cambridge Sollas was taught by Thomas George Bonney
Thomas George Bonney
Thomas George Bonney FRS was an English geologist.-Career:Bonney was the eldest son of the Reverend Thomas Bonney, master of Rugeley Grammar School...
, who persuaded him to switch to geology, which he did, gaining First Class Honours in the Natural Sciences Tripos
Natural Sciences (Cambridge)
The Natural Sciences Tripos is one of the several courses which form the University of Cambridge system of undergraduate teaching...
in 1873.
Academia
After graduating Sollas spent six years as a University Extension Lecturer, publishing a syllabus of lectures in 1876 on geology and biology, and in 1879 became Lecturer in Geology and Zoology at University College, BristolUniversity College, Bristol
University College, Bristol was an educational institution which existed from 1876 to 1909. It was the predecessor institution to the University of Bristol, which gained a Royal Charter in 1909...
. In 1880 he was made Professor of Geology. In 1883 Sollas left Bristol to take up a position as Professor of Geology 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...
, where he remained until he was made Professor of Geology at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1897. At Oxford his main contribution was significantly expanding the Geology department, appointing new demonstrators and lecturers and employing his own daughters as unpaid research assistants. At the same time he did research in a variety of fields, and was described as "one of the last true geological polymaths".
In his later years Sollas became increasingly eccentric, and left much of the running of the Department to his Demonstrator, J.A. Douglas while he concentrated on research. He finally died on 20 October 1936, still in office. After his death Douglas attempted to link him to the Piltdown Man
Piltdown Man
The Piltdown Man was a hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human. These fragments consisted of parts of a skull and jawbone, said to have been collected in 1912 from a gravel pit at Piltdown, East Sussex, England...
hoax.
Research work
Sollas's research was over a wide area; during his lifetime he published over 180 papers and three books, and as well as his geological and zoological studies became an expert in anthropology. His first area of interest was the Cambridge GreensandCambridge 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:...
, which he began working on when studying at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He published nine papers on the formation, mainly on the sponges, and for his work 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...
in 1878. From 1878 until 1889 he dedicated his research work entirely to sponges and fossils, publishing a series of papers and reports on new species. In 1887 he wrote an article on phylum
Phylum
In biology, a phylum The term was coined by Georges Cuvier from Greek φῦλον phylon, "race, stock," related to φυλή phyle, "tribe, clan." is a taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. "Phylum" is equivalent to the botanical term division....
for the Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
. His work on sponges led him to investigate their physical structure, and from there the makeup of chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
.
At Bristol he worked in palaeontology, describing a new species of plesiosaurus
Plesiosaurus
Plesiosaurus was a genus of large marine sauropterygian reptile that lived during the early part of the Jurassic Period, and is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias of England...
, but also published papers on the geological makeup of Bristol and the Silesian fossils near the Welsh border. After moving to Dublin he worked on foraminifera
Foraminifera
The Foraminifera , or forams for short, are a large group of amoeboid protists which are among the commonest plankton species. They have reticulating pseudopods, fine strands of cytoplasm that branch and merge to form a dynamic net...
and brachiopod
Brachiopod
Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection...
s, before switching to petrological work. His first major paper was on the granite of Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, where he conducted a detailed chemical analysis of the rock and invented the diffusion column to assist in this. In 1896 he travelled to the Pacific Ocean to investigate the formation of the Funafuti
Funafuti
Funafuti is an atoll that forms the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 , making it the most populated atoll in the country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with a surface of...
coral atoll, drawing inconclusive results. In 1905 he published the collection of essays The Age of the Earth, and in 1911 an anthropological work Ancient Hunters and their Modern Representatives.
In 1889 Sollas became a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was awarded the Royal Medal
Royal Medal
The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
in 1914. From 1908 to 1910 he served as president of the 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"...
, who awarded him the Bigsby Medal
Bigsby Medal
The Bigsby Medal is a medal of the Geological Society of London established by John Jeremiah Bigsby. It is awarded for the study of American geology and recipients must be under 45 years of age.-Bigsby Medalists:List of Medallists...
in 1893 and 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...
in 1907.