| Description | Papers of George Bellas Greenough, 1758-1855, comprising:
Scientific correspondence relating to the research and revision of Greenough's 'Geological Map of England & Wales' mapping, Society business and publishing, 1808-1852;
Manuscript notes and other material relating to George Bellas Greenough's role as one of the founders, President and Council Member of the Geological Society of London, 1818-1850;
George Bellas Greenough's own geological lectures and publications, [1813]-1838;
Material relating to the production of George Bellas Greenough's 'Geological Map of England & Wales' (1820) and 'General sketch of the physical and geological features of British India'' (1854);
Published and manuscript maps, owned or coloured by George Bellas Greenough, notably relating to the research for his own geological maps, 1758-1855;
Books and publications by others, annotated by Greenough, 1766-[1848];
Extract of the will of George Bellas Greenough, 1854. |
| Administrative History | One of the original founders of the Geological Society, George Bellas was born on 18 January 1778 in the parish of St Gregory by St Paul, London. He was orphaned by the age of six and was adopted by his maternal grandfather Thomas Greenough, a wealthy apothecary and chemist. George began his education at Mr Cotton’s school in Salthill, and around 1787 was sent to Eton. Frequently unwell as a child, he was removed after a year and sent instead to Dr Thomson’s school in Kensington.
His grandfather’s death in 1794 left him a considerable fortune, with George adopting his surname ‘Greenough’ as part of the terms of inheritance. The now independently wealthy George Bellas Greenough entered Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1795, where he attended nine terms but being a dissenter he was unable to take his degree. Instead he enrolled at the University of Göttingen, Germany in 1798 with the purpose of studying law. However it appeared he was under the misapprehension that the classes would be taught in Latin so in order to improve his grasp of the German language he began to attend the lectures of the legendary naturalist Johann Blumenbach (1752-1840). After time spent studying mineralogy and visiting the mining districts of the country [where he first began to collect minerals], as well as Italy and Sicily, Greenough (now firmly converted to the natural sciences) returned to Britain in 1801.
As well as travelling around Britain and the Continent, between 1801-1807 he was involved as a Member of the Royal Institution, attending lectures on chemistry, working in the laboratory, and rubbing shoulders with contemporary scientists such as Humphry Davy (whom he met during a trip to Cornwall in 1801) and William Babington who were, like him, keen mineralogists. These men, along with ten others, would found the Geological Society on 13 November 1807. He served as the Society's first President until 1813, and a further two terms between 1818-1820 and 1833-1835.
Greenough’s contribution to the development of the science of geology was not as a unique thinker - he published only one book 'A Critical Examination of the First Principles of Geology', (1819) - instead it was his supreme organisational skills, particularly in the collation of cartographical information for his geological maps. The two editions of his ‘Geological Map of England & Wales’ (1820 & 1840) were approached as a collaborative venture, combining his own observations with those from Society members and others such as mine owners who had expert knowledge of their local areas.
However, his interests ranged far wider than geology, at one point Greenough was a member of 37 different learned societies covering subjects as diverse as archaeology, botany and ethnology. He was also involved in the founding of University College of London.
His final published map, ‘General sketch of the physical and geological features of British India’, (1854), took just over 11 years to complete. Yet he never visited the country, his information instead culled from published and archival sources and accounts from others. He died on the 2 April 1855 at the age of 76 in Naples, Italy, whilst en route to the East in his efforts to connect the geology of Asia to Europe. |