William Edmond Logan (1798-1875), Knighted Canadian Geologist
An Anthology
Description:... William Edmond Logan was born in Montreal, April 20,1798; completed one year at Edinburgh University, taking courses in mathematics, chemistry, & logic; worked in London for his uncle as bookkeeper and manager; in 1831, moved to Swansea Wales as manager of a copper smelting & coal production; did precise geological mapping of the south Wales coal basin to establish reserves; in 1842, appointed Director and Founder of the Geological Survey of Canada; with a few assistants, mapped Canada East and Canada West from Gaspe to Lake Superior; in 1851, 1855, and 1862 organized displays of Canadian rocks & minerals for International Exhibitions in London and Paris; in January 1856, Queen Victoria conferred knighthood, the first native born Canadian so honoured; in 1863, published a 983 page volume, the GEOLOGY OF CANADA, along with an atlas of geologic maps; in 1869, published a large geologic map about two and half by one metre, covering the area from Newfoundland to Manitoba, & the United States bordering the Great Lakes, from Maine to Kansas; in November 1869, relinquished the GSC directorship; died June 22, 1875, at Llechryd, Wales with burial at Cilgerran Wales, with the grave becoming 'unknown' being covered with lichens and moss.
The biography by Harrington (1883) is rare, found only in professional & university libraries, generally not available to the public. So why this anthology of published papers by seven authors including Logan himself? In 1998, Sir William Logan was selected as the most important scientist in Canadian history. In 2000, headlines were made when the government proposed replacing his name on Canada's highest mountain in the Yukon. The public protested; the proposal was withdrawn. Logan's name is on numerous geographic & geologic features from offshore Nova Scotia near Sable Island to the Queen Charlotte Islands off British Columbia. In 2004, the CBC searched for the most important Canadians in a historic context, Logan's name is on the list.
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