George Frederic Matthew
George Frederic Matthew (born August 12, 1837 in Saint John (New Brunswick) , † April 14, 1923 in Hastings-on-Hudson , New York ) was a Canadian paleontologist and geologist .
Matthew was a municipal or state employee (from 1893 until his retirement in 1915 customs inspector) in Saint John (then a busy port) and self-taught in palaeontology and geology . His interest in geology may have been sparked by Abraham Gesner's collection . Together with other amateur geologists, he founded the Steinhammer Club . At first he published especially about fossils in the vicinity of his homeland Saint John, including trace fossils . He also came into contact with the leading Canadian geologist of his time, John William Dawson . He became the first curator of the Natural History Society of New Brunswick, founded in 1862, of which he was president from 1889 to 1895. The company also published a magazine in which Matthew published. From 1864 to 1901 he also worked part-time for the Geological Survey of Canada and mapped for this in the New Brunswick area, where he worked with Loring Woart Bailey , a professor friend at the University of New Brunswick. He was also a specialist in Cambrian fossils , especially trilobites , for the survey . In 1890 he was the first to describe the Precambrian stromatolites found in the vicinity of Saint John.
In 1864 he and Bailey and Fred Hartt, another amateur geologist, found the oldest Cambrian trilobite site in North America near St. John.
He was an honorary doctor from Laval University and the University of New Brunswick . In 1917 he received the Murchison Medal from the Geological Society of London .
Matthew first described over 350 species of fossil animals and plants. The Mount Matthew in northern New Brunswick is named after him.
His son, William Diller Matthew , was a noted vertebrate paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Matthew, George Frederic |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Matthew, George Frederick (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian paleontologist and geologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 12, 1837 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Saint John (New Brunswick) |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 14, 1923 |
| Place of death | Hastings-on-Hudson , New York (State) |