William Guybon Atherstone

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Atherstone

William Guybon Atherstone (born May 27, 1814 in the district of Uitenhage , Cape Colony , † March 26, 1898 in Grahamstown , Cape Colony) was a South African doctor, paleontologist and geologist . He was one of the pioneers of geological exploration in South Africa.

Life

Atherstone was a resident doctor in Grahamstown. From 1839 he began to be interested in geological and palaeontological questions, described the local geological conditions in the region of Uitenhage and collected fossils of the Karoo supergroup , including prints of reptiles, which he also kept in the Natural History Museum (then British Museum (Natural History ) ) where she described Richard Owen .

In 1867 he identified a mineral found near De Kalk at the confluence of the Vaal and Riet rivers as diamond , which contributed to the diamond boom in South Africa. He also drew attention to the occurrence of Kimberley .

Atherstone was a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and the Royal College of Surgeons of England . In 1895 he was one of the founders of the Geological Society of South Africa in Johannesburg. For several years he was a member of the Cape Colony Parliament.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Atherstone, William Guybon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African doctor, palaeontologist and geologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1814
PLACE OF BIRTH Uitenhage District , Cape Colony
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1898
Place of death on Grahamstown , Cape Colony