1976, Tanzanite, a rare blue-purple
gemstone, was first discovered near Mount Kilamanjaro, Tanzania.
Mining and oil extraction. See also Companies for mining and
oil industry specific corporate events
See also Railways � social effects (1825) for
effects of railways on coal prices.
7 August 2004, Red Adair, specialist in fighting
oil well fires, died.
North Sea Oil
Development
For Brent Spar
ep[isode see Environment
6 July 1988. 173 men died in an explosion on the Piper Alpha oilrig in the North Sea. Many more were injured as a
series of explosions wrecked the rig whilst they slept. The 12-year-old rig was
120 miles off the Aberdeen coast. Flames shot 400 feet into the air and only 62
survived, many by jumping over 100 feet into the sea. The heat could be felt
one mile away, and hampered rescue efforts. 165 oil workers and 2 rescue
workers were killed.
27 March 1980, The Alexander
Keilland oil platform in the North Sea, 250 miles off� Scotland, capsized in a storm, killing 123
out of its crew of 212 men.
1978, The Sullom Voe oil terminal
opened in Scotland. Sullom Voe means �sunny place�.
27 June 1978, The UK was expected to be self-sufficient in oil in two
year�s time.
27 April 1976, Britain began exporting North Sea Oil.
18 June 1975. The first North Sea Oil, from the Argyll field, came
ashore from a Liberian tanker.
1967, Mining of the Athabasca Tar Sands in northern Alberta
began, but exploitation was slow and expesnsive,
7 March 1967, The first North Sea Gas was brought
ashore in Britain.
2 June 1966. Philips petroleum found a large gas field off the Humber estuary.
5 April 1966, Shell announced the discovery of oil off Great Yarmouth.
27 December 1965. The North Sea oilrig Sea Gem collapsed into the
sea, killing 13 people.
1964,
Britian granted the first licences to drill for oil in the North Sea.
7 January 1975, OPEC agreed to raise crude oil prices by
10%.
23 December 1973. OPEC quadrupled the price of crude oil.
1 November 1972, The Standard Oil Company was reorganised as
the Exxon Corporation.
1 June 1972. Iraq nationalised the Iraq Petroleum
Company.
1968, Oil
was discovered on the North Slope,
Alaska.
1/9/1967, At a meeting in Khartoum, the Arabs
decided to lift the oil embargo that had been imposed on the West since the Six
Day War.
1964, Oil reserves were
discovered in Oman; extraction began in 1967.
1962, Oil production began in Abu
Dhabi.
1959, Major oil discoveries in
the UAE.
17 December 1954, British
Petroleum Company (BP) was formed.
23 April 1952, The oil pipeline between Kirkuk and Banias
was completed.
14/9/1951, Fawley Oil Refinery, near
Southampton, opened.
1948, The huge
Al-Ghawar oilfield in Saudi Arabia was discovered.
1938, The first oil was found in Saudi Arabia, in
commercial quaitities, a mile underground at Dhahran.
23 February 1938, Oil was discovered in Kuwait. This was
the large Burgan oilfield. However
exploitation was delayed until after World War Two. Then, oil rapidly displaced
pearling and fishing as Kuwait�s main source of income.
1937, Shell-BP began prospecting for oil
in� Nigeria. Oil was discovered during
World War Two, and commercial exploitation began in 1946.
14 January 1935, The Iraq � Mediterranean (Kirkuk to
Haifa)� oil pipeline was inaugurated.
14 July 1934, The oil pipeline from Mosul, Iraq, to
Tripoli, Lebanon, opened.
1931, First major oilfield found
in Bahrain. Oil extraction began in 1932.
3 October 1930, A large new oilfield was discovered at Rusk
County, Texas. World oil prices fell.
15 October 1927. Iraq made its first oil strike, at Kirkuk.
28 March 1924, Total was founded as the Compagnie Fran�aise des P�troles
(CFP), the "French Petroleum Company". Petroleum was
seen as vital in the case of a new war with Germany.
1922, Oil was discovered under Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela.
1922, Exploration for oil began in Saudi Arabia.
15 October 1918, Britain�s first oil well was
sunk, at Hardstoft in Derbyshire.
18 June 1915, Red Adair, specialist oil well
firefighter, was born.
1913,
Global crude oil production reached 407.5 million barrels, up from 5.7 million
barrels in 1870. The USA now accounted for two thirds of this
production, with California producing around 40% of the US total.
26 May 1908. Significant oil fields were found
in Persia (Iran), the first oil strike
in the Middle East.
Baku oilfields
1901, The
Baku oilfields still accounted for over half the world�s annual crude oil
production. The oilfields there had been developed by Ludwig Nobel, brother of Alfred Nobel.
1873, Oil production at Baku
increased with investment by Alfred Nobel.
Texas oilfields
11 March 1901, The tanker ship Atlas departed
from Port Arthur, Texas, with 3,000 barrels of crude oil from the Spindletop
oil fields, bound for the Standard Oil refineries in Philadelphia, marking the
first shipments of Texas oil.
10 January 1901, Major oil discovery in Texas,
USA. The salt dome of Spindletop had
been suspected of containing oil since 1865; this day oil was struck; a gush of
oil 6 inches wide rose over 200 feet, and was visible for over 10 miles. The
population of nearby Beaumont rapidly rose from 10,000 to over 50,000, as oil
production at Spindletop reached 100,000 barrels per day. Oil production in the
area lasted until 1950.
1894, Oil
was discovered in Texas, at Corsicana.as a well being drilled for water
suddenly produced oil.
Pennsylvania oilfields
1869, Pennsylvania oil wells were now producing 4.8 million barrels per annum of
crude oil.
27 August
1859. The world�s first oil well was drilled at Titusville,
Pennsylvania, by Edwin Drake of Seneca Oil. Oil had been known
in this area for 300 years. It used to seep from the ground and was used for
curing many ailments from blindness to rheumatism, colds, coughs, sprains, and
baldness. It was also skimmed from creeks and used for lighting, although it
gave off a foul smell when burned. Chemists turned the oil into a better
lighting fuel. Drake
drilled down 69 feet and got a steady flow of 25 barrels a day from his well.
By the end of the year the well once called �Drake�s Folly� had produced 2,000
barrels, and other prospectors joined in the search for more oil.
1854, The first fractional distillation of crude oil was performed, by
Yale chemistry professor Benjamin Silliman Junior, aged 38. He had been
asked by George
Henry Bissell, aged 33, to analyse a sample of Pennsylvania �rock
oil�, which burnt better than coal oil obtained from asphalt.
29 March 1819, Edward
Laurentine Drake was born in Greenville, New York, USA. On 28 August 1859 he
drilled the world�s first oil well.
UK
For UK Miner�s Strikes see Great
Britain
16 December 2015, The UK�s last deep coal mine, Kellingley
Colliery, near Wakefield, Yorkshire, closed. It once employed 3,000 workers.
1995, British Coal was privatised.
13 October 1992. British Coal announced 31 pit
closures and the loss of 31,000 jobs.
20 December 1990. The last coal mine in the Rhondda closed. Once 40,000 men worked at
56 pits here, and over 100 died in the mines. This day Maerdy Colliery closed,
300 were made redundant. Only 17 miners stayed in the industry, moving to other
pits.
30 December 1986, The use of canaries in UK coal
mines was discontinued.
31 March 1985, In Britain, the National Coal Board announced a
record loss of �2,225 million.
13 March 1974, Britain�s newly-elected
Labour Government wrote off the National Coal Board�s �105 million debt.
1966, The
Lancashire coalfield now had eleven collieries, down from 363 in 1854. The
South Wales coalfield had 63 collieries employing 48,000 men, down from 500
collieries and 250,000 men at its peak in 1913.
18 November 1965, The UK�s National Coal Board announced
that 150 pits were to close over the next thre years, with some 120,000 job
losses.
1 July 1965, The UK Government decided to
write off $450 million of the National Coal Board�s capital debt and to
start a programme to close uneconomic pits.
6 May 1965, The new modern mechanised
colliery officially opened at Kellingly, Yorkshire, UK. It was already producing
3,000 tons of coal a week.
14 November 1950, Britain�s National Coal Board published
the Plan For Coal. Demand was assumed to rise over the next 10-15 years and
production would be expanded by 20%; some 250 of Britain�s 900 collieries would
be comprehensively modernised. By the 1960s some 20 new super-collieries would
be opened, and some 350-400 smaller ones closed, mainly in central Scotland,
west Durham, Lancashire, Cannock Chase and the Forest of Dean.
30 June 1950, It was announced that the National Coal Board made a
profit of �9.5 million in 1949.
13 July 1948, It was announced that the UK coal industry lost �13
million in its first year of nationalisation.
7 May 1947, Explosion at a coal mine in
Barnsley, Yorkshire, UK, killed 9 miners.
1 January 1947. Britain�s
coal industry was nationalised under the Coal industry Nationalisation Act,
1946. The
National Coal Board (NCB) was set up, to control 1,647 mines,
100,000 miners homes and over a million acres of land. The NCB was chaired by
Lord Hyndley.
3 June 1942, The UK Government announced plans
to nationalise the coal mines.
30 June 1925. The British mining industry faced
a crisis. During 1923 and 1924 German coal exports had been halved because of
French occupation of the Ruhr following a reparations dispute between France
and Germany. Settlement of this, and a return to the Gold Standard by Britain
at a rate which effectively raised UK export prices by 10% meant that in the
first 6 months of 1925 the UK coal industry made a loss of �2.1 million. On 30
June 1925 the mine workers were given a month�s notice of the cancellation of a
pay award made in 1924 and the option of returning to an 8 hour day or further
wage cuts ranging from 13% to 38%. Even after the 1924 pay rise, miners� wages
were very low, in real terms lower than they had been in 1914. The Miners Union
rejected the pay cut and the longer hours. See 25 July 1925.
30 December 1913, Colliery
explosion in South Wales, UK, killed 439 miners.
11 May 1910, An explosion at a coal
mine in Whitehaven cut off 132 men underground. They had to be abandoned; in
fact none of them probably survived the explosion anyway.
1906, The
UK Coal Mines Regulation Act limited
coal miners working day to 8 hoiurs.
11
July 1905, 124 miners died in a pit disaster in
Glamorgan, south Wales.
19 May 1902, A coal mine explosion killed 216 miners at the
Coal Creek Company, Fraterville, Tennessee.
24 May 1901, 78 miners died in�
a pit disaster in Caerphilly, Wales.
1887, In Britain
the Mines Act regulated blasting procedures and stipulated the provision
of first aid and ambulance facilities for mines.
1882, Coal was proving hazardous to carry by ship;
some 100 British ships with coal cargoes were being lost each year, up from
around 70 in 1776. Some coal, especially from south Wales, gave off methane
which could be ignited by ships lanterns. All coal, if loaded wet, could absorb
moisture and oxygen and form unstable peroxides, which then broke down in
exothermic reactions to cause spontaneous ignition.
1872, In Britain the Coal Mines Regulation Act made compulsory the use of fan
ventilators, stronger timbering, wire ropes, improved winding machinery and
better safety lamps.
1862, Mining legislation in Britain
stipulated that every mine must have at least two shafts, to increase the
chances of escape in an accident.
1851, In Britain the Royal School of Mines opened. By the
1860s it was also training mine inspectors and raising safety standards in the
mining industry.
1850, In Britain, the Coal Mines Inspection Act provided for increased inspectors to
report on safety and work conditions in mines. The Mines Regulation and Inspection Act 1860 increased further the
number of inspectors and forbade children aged under 12 from working
underground. See Child Welfare
for more legislation curbing childrens� work in mines and factories.
UK annual coal output 1640-1994
|
Year |
Million tons (of which open cast) |
Employed (all), 1,000s |
No of NCB pits |
World Output Million tons |
|
1994 |
59.2(16.4) |
17 |
17 |
|
|
1993 |
76.8(15.0) |
44 |
50 |
|
|
1992 |
87.7((16.7) |
58 |
50 |
|
|
1991 |
89.3(17.0) |
74 |
65 |
|
|
1986 |
102.5(14.1) |
180 |
133 |
|
|
1980 |
124.6(15.3) |
205 |
211 |
|
|
1975 |
126.1(9.2) |
246 |
246 |
|
|
1970 |
|
300 |
|
|
|
1969 |
162.0(6.4) |
336 |
317 |
|
|
1957 |
224.6(13.8) |
704 |
822 |
|
|
1952 |
225.0 |
774 |
|
|
|
1951 |
222.0 |
698 |
|
|
|
1950 |
216.3 |
697 |
|
1,495 |
|
1949 |
|
|
|
1,396* |
|
1948 |
|
|
|
1,486 |
|
1947 |
197.0 (10.4) |
718 |
959 |
1,440 |
|
1945 |
192.6 |
|
|
|
|
1944 |
207.7 |
|
|
|
|
1943 |
217.9 |
|
|
|
|
1942 |
228.1 |
|
|
|
|
1941 |
231.0 |
|
|
|
|
1940 |
251.2 |
|
|
|
|
1939 |
259.1 |
|
|
|
|
1938 |
226 |
|
|
|
|
1920 |
|
1,250 (peak) |
|
|
|
1913 |
292 |
1,000 |
|
|
|
1900 |
184.5 |
|
|
|
|
1897 |
180.0 |
695.2 |
|
|
|
1881 |
|
495 |
|
|
|
1873 |
128.5 |
|
|
|
|
1871 |
117.4 |
|
|
|
|
1870 |
110.5 |
|
|
|
|
1865 |
99.0 |
|
|
|
|
1851 |
|
216.2 |
|
|
|
1850 |
49.5 |
215 |
|
|
|
1835 |
30 |
|
|
|
|
1830 |
22.5 |
|
|
|
|
1815 |
16 |
|
|
|
|
1800 |
11 |
40 |
|
|
|
1785 |
8.5 |
|
|
|
|
1700 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
1640 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
1540 |
0.2 |
|
|
|
|
1400 |
0.1 |
|
|
|
|
Year |
Million tons (of which open cast) |
Employed (all), 1,000s |
No of NCB pits |
World Output Million tons |
*US
shortfall of 140 million tons compared to 1948
29 May 1829, Sir Humphrey Davy, born 17 December 1778,
inventor of the safety lamp (see 9 January 1816) died in Geneva.
9 January
1816. Sir Humphrey Davy�s safety lamp used in a coal mine
for the first time.
31
October 1815, Sir Humphrey Davy patented the miner�s safety lamp. The metal gauze
surrounding the flame dissipated heat and prevented the ignition of inflammable
gases.
1 October 1813,
Following the explosion at Brandling Main colliery (15 May 1812) the Sunderland
Society was formed, to promote mine safety.
15 May 1812, Mine
explosion at Brandling Main (Felling) colliery, Sunderland. See 1 October 1813.
17
December 1778, Sir Humphrey Davy,
inventor of the miner�s safety lamp,
was born in Penzance (died 1829).� He was
the son of a woodcarver. He also discovered the elements
sodium, calcium, barium, magnesium, potassium and strontium
by passing electricity through molten metal compounds.
15 May 1765, James Watt
invented the condenser, effectively trebling the energy output of the existing
Newcomen steam pumps. The earlier Newcomen
steam engine pumped steam into a cylinder, forcing back a piston; the
cylinder was then sprayed with cool water, condensing the steam and creating a
vacuum that pulled the piston back. Alternately heating and cooling the
cylinder was inefficient. Watt�s idea was to attach a separate chamber off the
main cylinder into which the steam could be allowed to enter, and cooled there
by water, again creating the vacuum that pulled the piston back again. The main
cylinder could be kept hot, saving considerable energy. The energy content of Britain�s coal
reserves was effectively trebled.
1712, The Newcomen steam engine began to be used to pump water out of mines
(see 1698, 15 May 1765).
1700, To manufacture 1 tonne of iron,
in pre-industrial times, required 10 hectares of forest to produce enough
charcoal. The same amount of iron could be made with 5 tonnes of coal.
1698, An early steam pump, known as
the �miner�s friend�, was designed by Thomas Newcomen to pump water out of mines.
See 1712.
1640, Annual UK coal output was 2
million tons. Wood had become much scarcer since 1540, and coal was being
substituted as a fuel. Wood was also more needed for the building of ships.
However Britain�s road system was very poor and it cost as
much to move a quantity of coal 3 miles as it did to mine it.� However the cost of water transport was far
less and coal could be moved 30 miles by sea for the cost of 1 mile by road.
These economics had a big impact on Tyneside coal, which was sent by sea in
large quantities south to London. As mining progressed, less accessible seams
needed to be worked, and close to the River Tyne there was a limit imposed by
water ingress. Mines needed to move away from the River, but then the high
costs of road transport down to the docks came into play. However see 1882,
hazards of shipping coal.
1590, First recorded use of
�dramways�, two parralell lines of wooden planks from a mine pithead to the
nreast waterway, to ease the passage of ore or coal (see also Railways GB)
1 July 1507, The earliest records of coal-mining at Nailsea, near Bristol.
Coal was being transported to Yatton for household fireplaces. By the late 19th
century coal mining had died out south of Bristol as the industry migrated to
the richer seams of south Wales.
1400,
Coal was an unpopular domestic fuel, used only by those who lived close to a
coal mine and were too poor to afford an alternatiuve fuel.
1259, The first(?) historical
record of mining in England. King Henry III granted the freemen of
Newcastle on Tyne a licence to dig for coals.
1183, A
coal mine was recorded as existing at Escomb, near Durham.
Australia
1 August 1902, 100 miners died at a pit disaster
at Wollongang, Australia.
Australasia coal output
|
Year |
Million tons |
|
1945 |
24.1 |
|
1943 |
22.8 |
|
1942 |
25.2 |
|
1941 |
24.0 |
|
1940 |
20.7 |
|
1939 |
21.9 |
Belgium
Belgian coal output
|
Year |
Million tons |
|
1945 |
17.3 |
|
1944 |
14.9 |
|
1943 |
26.1 |
|
1942 |
27.4 |
|
1941 |
28.5 |
|
1940 |
28.2 |
|
1939 |
32.9 |
|
1830 |
6 |
China
Chinese coal output
|
Year |
Million tons |
|
1944 |
6.0 |
|
1943 |
6.6 |
|
1942 |
6.2 |
|
1941 |
6.6 |
|
1940 |
6.3 |
|
1939 |
5.0 |
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovak coal output
|
Year |
Million tons |
|
1945 |
29.5 |
|
1944 |
55.2 |
France
22 April 2004, The last coal mine in France closed, ending nearly 300 years of
coal mining.
11 March 1906, 1,200 miners died in a pit
explosion in northern France.
5 March 1902, French coal miners went on
strike, demandn9ing an 8-hour day.
French coal output
|
Year |
No of mines |
No. of miners |
Million tons |
|
1968 |
28 |
87,000 |
|
|
1945 |
|
|
38.7 |
|
1944 |
|
|
31.0 |
|
1943 |
|
|
46.8 |
|
1942 |
|
|
48.4 |
|
1941 |
|
|
48.3 |
|
1940 |
|
|
45.2 |
|
1939 |
|
|
55.4 |
|
1938 |
125 |
210,000 |
|
|
1913 |
|
|
40.8 |
|
1900 |
|
|
26.1 |
|
1871 |
|
|
13.3 |
|
1830 |
|
|
2 |
|
1815 |
|
|
0.9 |
Germany
Ruhr and total annual coal output
|
Year |
No. of mines Ruhr |
Million tons Ruhr |
Million tons All Germany |
No. of miners Ruhr |
|
1969 |
57 |
|
|
123,000 |
|
1964 |
99 |
|
|
325,000 |
|
1945 |
|
|
164.0 |
|
|
1944 |
|
|
404.0 |
|
|
1943 |
|
|
455.0 |
|
|
1939 |
|
|
474.0 |
|
|
1913 |
167 |
110.812 |
279 |
394.569 |
|
1900 |
|
|
89.3 |
|
|
1890 |
177 |
35.469 |
|
127,794 |
|
1870 |
220 |
11.813 |
37.9 |
51,391 |
|
1850 |
198 |
1.666 |
|
12,741 |
|
1800 |
158 |
0.23 |
|
1,546 |
28 January
1907, 164 miners died in a pit explosion at Saarbrucken,
Germany.
1775, A mining academy was set up in
Clausthal, Germany.
1765, A mining academy was established
at Freiberg, Germany.
India
Indian coal output
|
Year |
Million tons |
|
1945 |
29.4 |
|
1944 |
26.7 |
|
1943 |
28.7 |
|
1942 |
33.0 |
|
1941 |
33/0 |
|
1940 |
28.7 |
|
1939 |
31.1 |
Netherlands
Netherlands coal output
|
Year |
Million tons |
|
1945 |
5.6 |
|
1944 |
9.2 |
|
1943 |
13.9 |
|
1942 |
14.0 |
|
1941 |
14.3 |
|
1940 |
13.6 |
|
1939 |
14.4 |
Poland
Polish coal output
|
Year |
Million tons |
|
1945 |
23.2 |
South Africa
South African coal output
|
Year |
Million tons |
|
1945 |
25.3 |
|
1943 |
22.7 |
|
1942 |
22.5 |
|
1941 |
20.2 |
|
1940 |
18.9 |
|
1939 |
18.6 |
USA
10 January 1962, 11 coal miners were killed in an
explosion at a mine near Carterville, Illinois.
28 January 1931, A coal mine explosion in Linton,
Indiana, killed 28 of the 38 workers on site.
14 August 1923, 99 miners died in a coal mine
explosion near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
27 April 1917, A mine explosion in Hastings, Las
Animas County, Colorado, killed 121 people.
6 December 1907, The USA suffered its worst mine
disaster.� 361 died at Monongah, West
Virginia.
2 May 1902, In Pennsylvania, USA, 200,000
coal miners began a strike, demanding union recognition and a pay rise.
1 May 1900, Explosion in a Utah coal mine killed 200.
|
Coal Production Million tons |
USA |
|
1972 |
650.0 |
|
1971 |
600.0 |
|
1962 |
425.0 |
|
1961 |
410.0 |
|
1945 |
630.9 |
|
1944 |
683.3 |
|
1943 |
650.8 |
|
1942 |
643.0 |
|
1941 |
570.5 |
|
1940 |
512.3 |
|
1939 |
443.6 |
|
1914 |
455.0 |
|
1870 |
10.0 |
USSR
USSR coal output
|
Year |
Million tons |
|
1945 |
160.0 |
|
1944 |
130.0 |
|
1943 |
145.0 |
|
1942 |
100.0 |
|
1941 |
175.0 |
|
1940 |
181.4 |
|
1939 |
150.0 |
Zimbabwe
8 June 1972, A pit explosion in Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe) killed 400 miners.
Famous geologists, geological
societies, geological theories
30/9/1985, Charles Richter, the US seismologist
who devised the
Richter Scale, died.
21 June 1977, Bruce Charles
Heezen, US oceanographer and geologist, died near Reykjanes,
Iceland.
1967, US
and British geologists William Morgan, Dan McKenzie and Robert Parker
combined Wegener�s
1912 theory of
continental drift and the 1961 theory of ocean spreading to create a theory of plate
tectonics, explaining mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes.
The theory gained universal acceptance in the 1970s.
20/9/1965, Arthur Holmes, English
geologist, died in London.
1961, US
geologists Robert
Dietz and Harry Hess independently theorised that sea floors spread
apart as magma oozed up at central ridges. This went some way to explaining
Wegener�s
1912 theory of continental drift. See 1967.
17
February 1942, Augusto Ponzio, semiologist was born in San
Pietro Vernotico, Italy
18
December 1936, Andrija Mohorovicic, Croatian geologist, died
in Zagreb.
1935, The Richter Scale for measuring the intensity
of earhbquakes was devised by US geologist Charles Richter.
16
October 1927, The first remnant of Peking Man, a tooth, was
found by paleontologist Anders Birger Bohlin at Chou K'ou Tien
(Zhoukoudian), under sponsorship of Davidson Black, who gave it the scientific
name Sinanthropus pekinensis. More remains would be discovered over the next
ten years, and reclassified as Homo erectus pekinensis, estimated to be more
than 300,000 years old.
19
October 1925, Ancient sea shells were
discovered in the Sahara Desert, proving it had once been underwater.
1916, A Michelson,
US scientist, determined that the Earth has a molten core.
1915, In Germany,
Alfred
Wegener published his theory of drifting continental plates.
Initially, nobody else believed an entire continent could move. Evidence for
Wegener�s theory emerged in the 1950s and 60s when fossil magnetism was
observed in rocks, with a different alignment to today.
30 June 1915, Elso Sterrenberg Barghoorn was
born in New York City, USA. In 1954 he discovered, with Stanley A Tyler, very
ancient fossils in Gunflint chert in the Canadian shield. These fossils of
bacteria and algae were estimated at 2 billion years old.
26 April 1914, Eduard Suess,
Austrian geologist, died in Marz, Burgenland.
12 May 1913, William Maurice
Ewing was born in Lockney, Texas. In 1935 he began a seismic study
of the seabed using refractions of waves from explosions.
1912, German scientist Alfred Wegener
proposed that all of the earth�s continents once formed one giant landmass. He
based this on how they seemed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, and how
similar fossil species could be observed on land,masses now far apart.however
no-one could explain how the continents could actiually move.� See 1961.
4 January
1912, Clarence Edward Dutton, US geologist, died in
Eaglewood, New Jersey.
1909,
Yugoslav seismologist Mohorovicic discovered the Mohorovicic
Discontinuity, the boundary between the Earth�s crust and mantle.
5 May 1908, Albert Lapparent, French geologist died.
29
January 1908, Piero Leonardi, Italian
geologist, was born
19 April 1904, Sir Clement
Foster, English geologist, died (born 23 March 1841).
7 March 1904,
Ferdinand
Fouque, French geologist, died (born 21 June 1828)
18
December 1903, Robert Etheridge, English geologist, died
(born 3 December 1819).
17 April 1898, Jules Marcou, Swiss-US geologist, died.
1 October
1893, Henry Crosskey, English geologist, died (born
7 December 1826).
12/9/1903,
Maxwell
Close, Irish geologist, died (born 1822).
1 June 1903, Peter Lesley, US geologist, died (born
17/9/1819).
23/9/1902, John Wesley
Powell, US geologist (born 24 March 1834) died.
16 May 1901, Gustaf
Lindstrom, Swedish palaeontologist, died (born 27 August 1829).
2 March 1901, Sir John Dawson,
Canadian geologist, died (born 30 October 1820).
26 April 1900, Charles Richter,
seismologist who created the earthquake scale, was born.
18
November 1899, Henry Hicks, British geologist, died (born 26
May 1837).
16 May 1899, Sir Frederick
McCoy, British palaeontologist, died.
1
November 1897, Peter Brodie, English geologist, died (born
1815).
7 July 1897, Samuel Allport,
English petrologist, died in Cheltenham (born 23 January 1816 in Birmingham).
12 April 1897, Edward Cope,
US palaeontologist, died (born 28 July 1840).
7 March 1897, Gustav Kenncott,
mineralogist, died (born 6 January 1818)
19 August
1896, Alexander Green, English geologist, died (born
10 October 1832).
9 July 1896, Heinrich
Beyrich, German geologist, died (born in Berlin 31 August 1815).
29 May 1896, Gabriel Daubree,
French
geologist, died (born 25 June 1814).
14 April 1895, Easter
Sunday; James
Dana, US geologist, died (born 12 February 1813).
19
February 1895, John Hulke, British geologist, died (born 6
November 1830).
3 January
1893, Nikolai Koksharov, Russian
geologist, died (born 5 December 1818).
12
February 1892, Thomas Hunt, US geologist, died (born
5/9/1826)
9 December
1891, Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay, British
geologist (born 31 January 1814) died.
22 April 1891, Harold Jeffreys,
geologist, was born at Fatfield, England. In 1940 he published research on the travel of
seismic waves through the Earth.
4 April 1890, Edmond Hebert,
French geologist, died (born 12 June 1812).
14 June 1889, Henry William
Bristow, English geologist, died (born 17 May 1817).
4 June 1889,
German-US geologist Beno Gutenberg was born in Darmstadt, Germany.
In 1914 he discovered a discontinuity in the behaviour of earthquake waves at
3,000 km below the earth�s surface. This is the Gutenberg discontinuity, between the
mantle and the outer core.
3 May 1889, Charles Lory,
French geologist, died (born 30 July 1823).
15
February 1889, Ernst Dechen, German geologist, died (born 25
March 1800).
21 July 1888, Henry Lewis,
US geologist, died (born 16 November 1853).
15 August
1887, Sir Johann Haast, British-German geologist,
died (born 1 May 1824).
1 July 1886, Otto Abich,
German mineralogist (born 11 December 1806) died in Vienna.
14
October 1885, Thomas Davidson, British palaeontologist, died
(born 17 May 1817).
3
February 1885, Gregor Helmersen, Russian geologist, died
(born 29/9/1803).
18 July 1884, Ferdinand
Hochstetter, Austrian geologist, died (born 30 April 1829).
5 October
1883, Joachim Barrande, Austrian geologist,died in
Frohsdorf (born in Saugues, Haute Loire 11 August 1799).
5 May 1883, Henry Boase,
English geologist, died (born in London 2/9/1799).
23
February 1882, Pierre Desor, Swiss geologist, died (born 13
February 1811).
21
November 1881, Ami Bourg, Austrian geologist, died (born in
Hamburg 16 March 1794).
5
November 1881, Robert Mallet, Irish geologist, died (born 3
June 1810).
6 April 1881, Sir Philip
Egerton, British palaeontologist, died (born 13 November 1806)
24 March 1881, Louis
Delescluze, French geologist, died (born 3 February 1817).
10
February 1881, John Bigsby, English geologist, died in London
(born in Nottingham 14 August 1792).
1880, The Seismological Society of Japan
was founded.
1
November 1880, Alfred Lothar Wegener was born in Berlin, Germany.
In 1912 he proposed a theory of continental drift, and the supercontinent of
Pangea.
20 May 1880, William Miller,
British mineralogist, died.
13 May 1880, David Ansted,
geologist, died in Melton, near Woodbridge (born 5 February 1814 in London).
14/9/1879, Bernhard Cotta,
German geologist, died (born 24 October 1808).
21/9/1878, Thomas Belt,
English geologist, died in Denver, USA (born in Newcastle on Tyne 1832).
17 June 1878, William Clarke,
British geologist, died (born 2 June 1798).
25 July 1877, Robert Fox,
English geologist, died (born 26 April 1789)
22
December 1876, Fielding Meek, US geologist, died.
28/9/1876, Carl Credner,
German geologist, died (born 13 March 1809).
22 June 1875, Sir William
Logan, British geologist, died (born 20 April 1798).
9 June 1875, Gerard Deshayes,
French geologist, died (born 13 May 1797).
14
December 1873, Louis Agassiz, who developed the theory of Ice Ages,
died �see 28 May 1807, when born.
11
November 1871, William Lonsdale, English geologist, died
(born 9/9/1794).
22
October 1871, Sir Roderick Murchison, British geologist,
died.
29 July 1869, Joseph Jukes,
Engliush geologist, died (born 10 October 1811).
24
December 1868, Etienne Archiac, French geologist, died (born
24/9/1802 in Reims).
4
November 1868, Moritz Hornes, Austrian palaeontologist, died
(born 14 July 1815).
21/9/1868, Joseph Cumming,
English geologist, died (born 15 February 1812).
19 May 1868, John Fillmore
Hayford was born in Rouses Point, New York. He used the new science
of geodesy to determine
the exact shape of the Earth.
17
January 1867, Jacques Deslongchamps, French geologist, died
(born 17 January 1794).
13
October 1866, William Hopkins, English geologist, died (born
2 February 1793).
29 April 1865, Abtaham Gesner,
Canadian geologist, died (born 1790)
31
January 1865, Hugh Falconer, palaeontologist, died (born 29
February 1808)
5 March 1864, Leonard Horner,
Scottish geologist, died (born 17 January 1785)
1 October
1863, Ebenezer Emmons, US geologist, died (born 16
May 1800).
18
December 1862, Lucas Barrett, English geologist, died,
drowned, off Jamaica (born in London 14 November 1837).
5 July 1862, Henirich Bronn,
German geologist, died (born 3 March 1800).
26
December 1859, Johann Hausmann, German mineralogist, died
(born 22 December 1782).
18 May 1859,
Geophysicist Harry
Reid was born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He showed that earthquakes were caused when rocks either side
of fault lines moved; previous theories suggested that the
earthquakes caused the faults, not the other way round.
17
December 1858, In London, UK, the Geologists�
Association was formed.
3
December 1858, Joseph Durocher, French geologist, died (born
31 May 1817).
12 August
1857, Sir John Coode, geologist, died (born 7 June 1787)
20 March 1857, Ours Dufrenoy,
French geologist, died (born 5/9/1792).
23
January 1857, Andrija Mohorovicic was born in Volosko, Yugoslavia.
In 1909 he discovered the boundary in the Earth�s crust 30 km down where
earthquake waves change. This Mohorovicic Discontinuity is the boundary between
the crust and mantle.
9 October
1856, Charles Beecher, UA palaeontologist, was born
in Dunkirk, New York (died 14 February 1904).
24 August
1856, William Buckland, geologist, died (born 12
March 1784)
17 August
1856, Constant Prevost, French geologist, born 4
June 1787, died.
2 April 1855, George
Greenough, English geologist, died (born 18 January 1778).
1854, Heinrich Ernst identified the Oligocene
geological period.
16
November 1853, Henry Lewis, US geologist, was born (died 21
July 1888).
22 August
1853, Karl Karsten, German mineralogist, died (born
26 November 1782).
10
November 1852, Gideon Mantel, English geologist, died.
6/9/1851, Karl Koenig,
German geologist, died.
21 April 1851, Charles Barrois,
French geologist, was born in Lille.
10
December 1850, Francois Beudant, French geologist, died (born
in Paris 5/9/1787).
12 April 1849, Albert Heim,
Swiss geologist, was born.
7 October
1847, Alexandre Brogniart, French geologist, died
(born 5 February 1770).
11
January 1845, Etheldred Benett, one of the earliest woman
geologists, died (born 1776).
23
December 1844, Sebastian Munster, German palaeontologist,
died (born 17 February 1776).
7 August 1844, Auguste Levy,
French geologist, was born.
6 May 1843, Grove Gilbert,
US geologist, was born.
30/9/1842, Charles
Lapworth, English geologist, was born.
1841, Sir Roderick Impey Murchison
identified the Permian
geological period.
1 October
1841, Carl Credner, German geologist, was born.
23 March 1841, Sir Clement
Foster, English geologist, was born (died 19 April 1904).
28 July 1840, Edward Cope,
US palaeontologist, was born (died 12 April 1897).
16 May 1840, Andre Brochant
de Villiers, French geologist, died (born 6.8/1772).
23 March 1840, William MacLure,
US geologist, died.
26
December 1838, William Dawkins, English geologist, was born.
14
November 1837, Lucas Barrett, English geologist, was born in
London (died, drowned, off Jamaica 18 December 1862).
26 May 1837, Henry Hicks,
British geologist, was born (died 18 November 1899).
1835, The theory that huge moving ice
sheets had created the long lines of stony rubble found in parts of Europe, as
they pushed it ahead of them, began to gain credence; the Theory of Ice Ages. Before this such
stony ridges were attributed to the Biblical Flood. It was not for another 50
years that an explanation of how Ice Ages happen was developed.
17
December 1835, Alexander Agassiz, geologist, was born in
Neuchatel (died 1910).
21 August
1835, John MacCulloch, Scottish geologist, died.
1 June 1834, Francois
Laumont, mineralogist, died (born 38 May 1747).
27 July 1833, Thomas Bonney,
English geologist, was born in Rugeley.
10
October 1832, Alexander Green, English geologist, was born
(died 19 August 1896).
7 October
1832, William Blanford, English geologist, was born
in London (died in London 23 June 1905).
23 June 1832, Sir James Hall,
Scottish geologist, died (born 17 January 1761).
20 August
1831, Austrian geologist Edouard Seiss was born in London.
6
November 1830, John Hulke, British geologist, was born (died
19 February 1895).
27 August
1829, Gustaf Lindstrom, Swedish palaeontologist, was
born (died 16 May 1901).
30 April 1829, Ferdinand
Hochstetter, Austrian geologist, was born (died 18 July 1884).
21 June 1828, Ferdinand
Fouque, French geologist, was born (died 7 March 1904)
28 April 1828, Matthew Heddle,
Scottish mineralogist, was born (died 19 November 1897).
7
December 1826, Henry Crosskey, English geologist, was born
(died 1 October 1893).
25/9/1826, Giovanni
Brocchi, Italian geologist, died (born 18 February 1772).
6 January
1826, John Farey, English geologist, died (born
1766).
12
October 1825, Mineralogist Franz Joseph Muller died in Vienna, Austria.
30 March 1825, Theodor Kjerulf,
Norwegian geologist, was born (died 25 October 1888).
11 March 1825, Felix Karrer,
Austrian geologist, was born (died 19 April 1903).
1 May 1824, Sir Johann
Haast, British-German geologist, was born (died 15 August 1887).
20 April 1824, Peter Duncan,
English palaeontologist, was born (died 28 May 1891).
22
December 1822, John Newberry, US geologist, was born (died 7
December 1892).
30 July 1823, Charles Lory,
French geologist, was born (died 3 May 1889).
3 June 1822, Rene Hauy,
French mineralogist, died (born 28 February 1743).
9 March 1822, Edward Clarke,
English mineralogist, died (born 5 June 1769).
30
October 1820, Sir John Dawson, Canadian geologist, was born
(died 2 March 1901).
3
December 1819, Robert Etheridge, English geologist, was born
(died 18 December 1903).
1 October
1819, Thomas Jones, English geologist, was born,
17/9/1819, Peter Lesley,
US geologist, was born (died 1 June 1903).
8
December 1818, Mineralogist Johann Gottleib Gahn died in Falun,
Kopparburg, Sweden.
5
December 1818, Nikolai Koksharov, Russian geologist, was born
(died 3 January 1893).
6 January
1818, Gustav Kenncott, mineralogist, was born (died
7 March 1897).
7
November 1817, Jean Deluc, Swiss geologist, died (born 8
February 1727).
17
October 1817, Alfred des Cloizeaux, French mineralogist, was
born (died 5/1897).
31 May 1817, Joseph Durocher,
French geologist, was born (died 3 December 1858).
17 May 1817, Henry William
Bristow, English geologist, was born (died 14 June .1889).
3
February 1817, Louis Delescluze, French geologist, was born
(died 24 March 1881).
28 July 1816, Robert Harkness,
English geologist, was born (died 4 October 1878).
23
January 1816, Samuel Allport, English petrologist, was born
in Birmingham. He died 7 July 1897 in Cheltenham.
1815, William Smith�s book, The geological map of England, was the
first to identify rock strata by the fossils they contain. This enabled
geologists far apart to know they were working on the same period rocks.
20/9/1815, Nicolas
Desmarest, French geologist, died (born 16/9/1725).
31 August
1815, Heinrich Beyrich, German geologist, was born in
Berlin (died 9 July 1896).
14 July 1815, Moritz Hornes,
Austrian palaeontologist, was born (died 4 November 1868).
25 June 1814, Gabriel Daubree, French
geologist, was born (died 29 May 1896).
5 February 1814,
David Ansted, geologist, was born in London (died 13 May 1880 in Melton, near
Woodbridge).
7 October 1813,
Mineralogist Peter Jacob Hjelm died in Stockholm, Sweden.
12 June 1812, Edmond Hebert,
French geologist, was born (died 4 April 1890).
10
October 1811, Joseph Jukes, Engliush geologist, was born
(died 29 July 1869).
12/9/1811, James Hall,
US geologist, was born (died 7 August 1898).
3 June 1810, Robert Mallet,
Irish geologist, was born (died 5 November 1881).
31 August
1809, Oswald Heer, Swiss geologist, was born (died
27/9/1883).
24
October 1808, Bernhard Cotta, German geologist, was born
(died 14/9/1879).
29
February 1808, Hugh Falconer, palaeontologist, was born (died
31 January 1865)
25
January 1807, William Enniskillen, British palaeontologist,
was born (died 21 November 1886).
28 May 1807,
Louis
Agassiz, who developed the theory of Ice Ages, was born in
Motier en Vully, Switzerland. His father, a Christian
minister, wanted his son to become a medical doctor, although as a boy he
showed a strong interest in zoology. Later, during his travels through the
Alps, in 1836, he developed the theory that much of the Earth had once been
underneath great ice sheets. He died on 14 December 1873.
11
December 1806, Otto Abich, German mineralogist (died 1 July 1886)
was born in Berlin.
13
November 1806, Sir Philip Egerton, British palaeontologist,
was born (died 6 April 1881).
29/9/1803,
Gregor
Helmersen, Russian geologist, was born (died 3 February 1885).
10
October 1802, Hugh Miller, Scottish geologist,
was born (died 23 December 1856).
24/9/1802,
Etienne
Archiac, French geologist, was born in Reims (died 24 December 1868).
26
November 1801, Deodat Dolomieu, French geologist, died (born
24 June 1750).
15 May 1801,
Joseph
Fournet, French geologist, was born (died 8 January 1869),
6 April 1801, William
Hallowes Miller was born in Llandovery, Wales. In 1839 he developed
a system for
classifying crystals in rocks that is still used today.
8 October
1800, Jules Desnoyers, French geologist, was born
(died 1887).
16 May 1800, Ebenezer Emmons,
US geologist, was born (died 12/120/1863).
25 March 1800, Ernst Dechen,
German geologist, was born (died 15 February 1889).
3 March 1800, Henirich Bronn,
German geologist, was born (died 5 July 1862).
1799, Alexander von Humboldt coined
the term Jurassic.
11 August
1799, Joachim Barrande, Austrian geologist, was born
in Saugues, Haute Loire (died in Frohsdorf 5 October 1883)
2/9/1799,
Henry Boase,
English geologist, was born in London (died5 May 1883).
22
January 1799, Horace Benedict de Saussure, geologist, died
in Geneva, Switzerland.
25/9/1798,
Jean Elie de
Beaumont, geologist, was born (died 21/9/1874).
2 June 1798,
William
Clarke, British geologist,�
was born (died17.6.1878).
20 April 1798, Sir William Logan, British geologist, was born
(died 22 June 1875).
14
November 1797, Sir Charles Lyell, British
geologist, was born (died 22 February 1875).
13 May 1797,
Gerard
Deshayes, French geologist, was born (died 9 June 1875).
26 March 1797,
James Hutton,
Scottish geologist, died (born 3 June 1726).
9/9/1794, William Lonsdale, English geologist, was born
(died 11 November 1871).
16 March 1794, Ami Bourg,
Austrian geologist, was born in Hamburg (died 21 November 1881).
17
January 1794, Jacques Deslongchamps, French geologist, was
born (died 17 January 1867).
21 April 1793,
Geologist
John Michell died at Thornhill, England.
5/9/1792,
Ours
Dufrenoy, French geologist, was born (died 20 March 1857).
14 August
1792, John Bigsby, English geologist, was born in
Nottingham (died in London 10 February 1881).
19
February 1792, Geologist Roderick Impey Murchison was born in
Tarradale, Scotland. He was the first to identify the Silurian Period, in 1835.
26 April 1789,
Robert Fox,
English geologist, was born (died 25 July 1877).
5/9/1787,
Francois
Beudant, French geologist, was born in Paris (died 10 December 1850).
7 June 1787,
Sir John
Coode, geologist, was born (died 12 August 1857).
21
January 1787, Gustavus Brander, English expert in fossils,
died (born 1720 in London)
1785, James Hutton (born Edinburgh,
Scotland, 3 June 1726),in his work Theory
of the Earth, proposed the principle of Uniformitarianism � that all current
geological features can be explained by very slow-scale processes.
22 March 1785,
Geologist Adam
Sedgwick was born in Yorkshire, England. In 1835 he identified the Cambrian
Period.
17
January 1785, Leonard Horner, Scottish geologist, was born
(died 5 March 1864)
12 March 1784,
William
Buckland, geologist, was born (died 24 August 1856).
26
November 1782, Karl Karsten, German
mineralogist, was born (died 22 August 1853).
1779, Horace de Saussure coined the
term �geology�
in his work Voyages dan les Alpes.
17
February 1776, Sebastian Munster, German
palaeontologist, was born (died 23 December 1844).
26 April 1774, Christian Buch,
German geologist, was born (died 4 March 1853).
29 January
1773, Friedrich Mohr, German mineralogist, was born
(died 20/9/1839).
31 August
1772, William Borlase, geologist, died (born in
Penden, Cornwall 2 February 1695).
6 August 1772, Andre Brochant
de Villiers, French geologist, was born (died 16 May 1840).
5 February 1770,
Alexandre
Brogniart, French geologist, was born (died 7 October 1847).
5 June 1769, Edward Clarke,
English mineralogist, was born (died 9 March 1822).
19 August
1765, Mineralogist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt died in Stockholm, Sweden.
17
January 1761, Sir James Hall, Scottish geologist, was born
(died 23 June 1832).
21 March 1753, Franz Bruckmann,
German geologist, died (born 27/9/1767). He was the first to use the terms oolite
and oolitic
for rocks that resembled the roe of a fish in graininess.
25/9/1750, German
geologist Abraham
Gottlob Werner was born in Wehrau. He pioneered a method of classifying
minerals by their physical charatceristics such as colour,
hardness,transparency,lustre, and shape.
24 June 1750, Deodat Dolomieu,
French geologist, was born (died 26 November 1801).
28 May 1747, Francois
Laumont, mineralogist, was born (died 1 June 1834).
1745, Mikhail Vasilievich published a catalogue of 3,030
minerals.
28
February 1743, Rene Hauy, French mineralogist, was born (died
3 June 1822).
26
December 1742, Ignaz Born, Ausstrian mineralogist, was born
in Transylvania (died 1791).
21
February 1738, Mineralogist Franz Cancrin was born (died 1812).
8
February 1727, Jean Deluc, Swiss geologist, was born (died 7
November 1817).
3 June 1726, James Hutton,
Scottish geologist, was born (died 26 March 1797).
16/9/1725,
Nicolas
Desmarest, French geologist, was born (died 20/9/1815).
1703, De la Hautefeuille designed the first (Western)
seismograph.
27/9/1697, Franz Bruckmann,
German geologist, was born (died 21 March 1753).
2
February 1695, William Borlase, geologist, was born in
Penden, Cornwall (died 31 August 1771).
1658, Coal production at Newcastle on
Tyne reached 529,000 tons a year, up from 33,000 tons in 1564. Much of England
had been deforested by the use of wood as fuel, and now coal was the main
substitute.
1086, Shen Kuo,
Chinese
polymath, wrote essays on fossils, erosion, uplift and sedimentation; the
foundations of modern geology.
565 BCE,
The Greek
philosopher Xenophanes
theorised that because fossil sea shells can be found on mountaintops, then
parts of the Earth�s surface must have risen and sunk over time; an early
theory of geology.