Jacob Wilkinson (naturalist)

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Jacob Wilkinson (1773–1844) was an English naturalist working in the fields of geology and paleobiology.

Geology The study of the composition, structure, physical properties, and history of Earths components, and the processes by which they are shaped.

Geology is an earth science concerned with the solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Geology can also include the study of the solid features of any terrestrial planet or natural satellite such as Mars or the Moon. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other earth sciences, including hydrology and the atmospheric sciences, and so is treated as one major aspect of integrated earth system science and planetary science.

Paleobiology science that studies the origin, evolution, way of life of animals and plants of past geological periods

Paleobiology is a growing and comparatively new discipline which combines the methods and findings of the life science biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology. It is occasionally referred to as "geobiology".

Contents

Life

Born in the City of London on 28 April 1773, [1] he was the fifth surviving son of John Wilkinson (1732-1779), a wealthy businessman, and his wife Sibella Berdoe (1737-1807), daughter of his father's business partner John Berdoe. It is possible he was named after Jacob Wilkinson, a friend and maybe business associate of his father.

City of London City and county in United Kingdom

The City of London is a city and county that contains the historic centre and the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the agglomeration has since grown far beyond the City's borders. The City is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. Administratively, it forms one of the 33 local authority districts of Greater London; however, the City of London is not a London borough, a status reserved for the other 32 districts. It is also a separate county of England, being an enclave surrounded by Greater London. It is the smallest county in the United Kingdom.

Jacob Wilkinson British politician

Jacob Wilkinson (c.1719-1799) was an English businessman who served as an MP and as a director of the East India Company.

Living all his adult life outside Bath, Somerset, he became a keen collector of fossil remains of extinct creatures found in the area. In 1801 he acquired a huge mammoth tusk 2.4 metres (8 feet) long, together with other remains from the same site. These he presented to the Geological Society of London, who in 1807 made him one of their first honorary members. In 1805, he found the skeleton of an ichthyosaur at Weston, Bath. By 1811 he was reported to have perhaps the finest private collection of fossil bones in England, which he was glad to show to visitors. [2] [3]

Bath, Somerset City in Somerset, England

Bath is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, known for its Roman-built baths. In 2011, the population was 88,859. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bristol. The city became a World Heritage site in 1987.

Mammoth Extinct genus of mammals

A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair. They lived from the Pliocene epoch into the Holocene at about 4,000 years ago, and various species existed in Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America. They were members of the family Elephantidae, which also contains the two genera of modern elephants and their ancestors.

Geological Society of London learned society

The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fellows are entitled to the postnominal FGS, over 2,000 of whom are Chartered Geologists (CGeol). The Society is a Registered Charity, No. 210161. It is also a member of the Science Council, and is licensed to award Chartered Scientist to qualifying members.

As well as his scientific pursuits, when Britain was threatened by French invasion in 1803 he joined the Bath Forum Volunteer Infantry, in which he was commissioned as a Captain. [4] In 1840 he gave land for founding a school, which was still flourishing in 2016 as St Stephen's Primary School. [5]

He died in Bath at the age of 70 on 11 April 1844, with his will being proved in London on 27 June 1844. [6]

Family

At the age of 21 he married Olivia Maria Cranke Stephen (1771-1815), the ceremony being in Bath on 28 March 1795, [7] and they had six children, three of whom married:

After the death of Olivia, in 1818 he married Louisa Savage (1781-1859).

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References

  1. ↑ England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 , retrieved 22 October 2016
  2. ↑ Torrens, H.S. (2005), "Selected Essays", History of Palaeobotany, 241, Geological Society of London, ISBN   1862391742 , retrieved 22 October 2016
  3. ↑ Warner, Richard (1811), A new guide through Bath, and its environs, p. 177, retrieved 22 October 2016
  4. ↑ London Gazette (PDF) (15637), 29 October 1803, p. 1496, retrieved 22 October 2016
  5. ↑ St Stephen's Primary School (PDF), retrieved 22 October 2016
  6. ↑ PROB 11/2001/113 Will of Jacob Wilkinson of Springfield House, Somerset The National Archives , retrieved 22 October 2016
  7. ↑ Bath Chronicle, 2 April 1795, retrieved 22 October 2016
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