William Crawford Williamson

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William Crawford Williamson 1863
1876

William Crawford Williamson (born November 24, 1816 in Scarborough , North Yorkshire , † June 23, 1895 in Clapham , London ) was an English naturalist and paleobotanist .

Life

William's father, John Williamson, was originally a gardener but became well known as a naturalist in Scarborough who, together with William Bean, was the first to explore the fossil-rich rocks of the Yorkshire coast. John Williamson was a long-time curator of the Scarborough Natural History Museum ( Rotunda Museum ), so young William grew up in an environment where dealing with science and scientists was a normal part. He met William Smith , the "father of English geology," when he lived in the Williamson family for two years. William's maternal grandfather was a gem cutter and he taught young William the art of stone cutting. William later benefited from this ability when he was busy building fossil plants.

His first scientific contribution - a description of rare Yorkshire birds - was published by Williamson at the early age of 16. In 1834 an essay on the Gristhorpe man followed , and in the same year he presented his first work on Mesozoic fossils from his homeland to the Geological Society of London . At that time he also assisted John Lindley and William Hutton in their work on the Fossil Flora of Great Britain .

Although Williamson had started a medical degree, he found time to pursue scientific activity and worked for three years as curator of the Museum of the Natural History Society in Manchester . After finishing his studies at University College London in 1841, he returned to Manchester to practice medicine, and was very successful. When Owen's College was founded in Manchester in 1851 , he was given the post of professor of natural history, teaching geology , zoology and botany . The professorship was later divided into these three subject areas in order to spread the burden of the work over several shoulders. In 1885 he was elected a corresponding member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences . Williamson continued to teach botany until 1892 before he retired. Shortly afterwards he moved to Clapham, where he died three years later.

Williamson's teaching was not limited to his university events; he was also a successful popular science lecturer. His scientific work, which he pursued with remarkable energy throughout his life despite official and professional functions, spanned a wide range of topics. As a geologist, he carried out basic work in the field of the distribution of Mesozoic fossils (from 1834) and the role of microscopic organisms in the formation of marine sediments (1845). Also of fundamental value were his zoological work on the development of teeth and bones in fish (1842-1851) and today's foraminifera , which he described in a monograph for the Ray Society in 1857 . As a botanist, Williamson wrote a paper on the fine structure of Volvox (1852). In this area, however, he is best known for his research on the structure of fossil plants, with which he put paleobotany in the United Kingdom on a scientific basis. For this reason, Williamson is one of the founders of this field of science alongside Adolphe Theodore Brongniart .

After his death, Williamson's wife edited an extensive autobiography -  Reminiscences of a Yorkshire Naturalist  - which was published in London in 1896.

Honors

Together with his father John Williamson (1784–1877) he is honored in the name of the fossil genera Williamsonia Carruth. , Williamsonianthus Kräusel & F.Schaarschm. and Williamsoniella H.H. Thomas .

literature

Web links

Commons : William Crawford Williamson  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Holger Krahnke: The members of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen 1751-2001 (= Treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Philological-Historical Class. Volume 3, Vol. 246 = Treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Mathematical-Physical Class. Episode 3, vol. 50). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-525-82516-1 , p. 260.
  2. ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names - Extended Edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Williamson, William Crawford
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English naturalist and botanist
DATE OF BIRTH November 24, 1816
PLACE OF BIRTH Scarborough , North Yorkshire, England
DATE OF DEATH June 23, 1895
Place of death Clapham , County of London, England