| Date Note | No date, however 'Medals of Creation' book (1844) is in painting. |
| Administrative History | Gideon Algernon Mantell was elected a Member of the Geological Society [Fellowships were not introduced until after the granting of the Society's Royal Charter in 1825] on 15 May 1818 (no.463). He served on the Society's Council (1841-1844 and 1847-1852).
Originally trained and practiced as a surgeon, Gideon Mantell, or the 'Wizard of the Weald', is far better known for his geological and palaeontological discoveries, including the dinosaurs Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus. Two of his most famous publications, 'The Wonders of Geology' (1838) and 'Medals of Creation' (1844) are depicted in the background of the painting. |