Beche, Sir Henry Thomas De La
British geologist
Sir Henry Thomas De La Beche, (born 1796, London, Eng.—died April 13, 1855, London), geologist who founded the Geological Survey of Great Britain, which made the first methodical geologic survey of an entire country ever undertaken.
De La Beche was educated for the military but left the army in 1815 and two years later joined the Geological Society of London. During the following 10 years he traveled widely in Europe and began detailed geologic studies of Cornwall and Devon. The papers resulting from these studies described and illustrated for the first time the Jurassic and Cretaceous strata of those regions. He also investigated the geology of the Pembrokeshire coast, the coasts of France, and the island of Jamaica.
Interest in the mining operations of his country led De La Beche to suggest compiling a geologic map of the United Kingdom as an aid to the scientific development of the mineral industries. Through his efforts the Geological Survey of Great Britain was organized in 1835, with De La Beche as director. He was knighted in 1848, and, in the same year, he served as president of the Geological Society. In 1851 the combined offices of the Geological Survey, the Museum of Practical Geology, the Royal School of Mines, and the Mining Record Office were opened in London.
His Geological Manual (1831), Researches in Theoretical Geology (1834), and How to Observe in Geology (1835) are important contributions to geological literature.
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