| Description | Printed text of George Bellas GREENOUGH's Presidental Address, delivered at the Anniversary Meeting of the Geological Society, 21 February 1834, which has been interleaved and extensively annotated with manuscript notes (principally by Greenough) from mainly published sources on the subject of sea and land level changes, during earthquakes, 1834-1850. Towards the back (pp50-51) is a transcript of a letter from Lady Callcott dated 14 July 1834 and addressed to Robert Brown, Esq (1773-1858), refuting Greenough's charges.
[Note: the volume contains a number of small, loose notes. These have been placed in polyester pockets and marked in pencil on which page they were found.] |
| Administrative History | The subject of Greenough's 1834 Anniversary Address became quite controversial, as within it he disagreed with Charles Lyell's assertion of the elevation of land by earthquakes which had been written about in the latter's book 'Principles of Geology'. However, instead of directly attacking the author, Greenough took issue with one of the eyewitness accounts which Lyell cited - that of Maria Graham [later Lady Maria Callcott]. Graham's paper, “An Account of some Effects of the late Earthquakes in Chili”, had been read before the Society 5 March 1824, and published in the Society's Transactions. Lady Callcott took exception to being called a liar, and published a vigorous defence in 1834. |