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[[File:Croll_001.jpg|thumb|James Croll LL.D., F.R.S., Portrait]]
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== James Croll LL.D., F.R.S. ==
== James Croll LL.D., F.R.S. ==

Revision as of 21:06, 14 May 2020

James Croll LL.D., F.R.S., Portrait

James Croll LL.D., F.R.S.

James Croll was born in 1821, the son of a Perthshire stonemason and crofter. He received only a basic education and was dogged by poverty and ill-health, yet managed to devote all of his spare time to study and philosophical reflection.

In 1864, while working as janitor at the Andersonian College and Museum in Glasgow, he published a remarkable paper on The physical cause of the change of climate during geological epochs. Croll postulated a theory that variations in the shape of the earth’s orbit were responsible for cyclical climate changes, including ice ages.

Croll’s work attracted much attention and prompted Archibald Geikie to offer him a position with the Scottish branch of the Geological Survey in 1867. Croll was given the relatively undemanding job of office-keeper, which left him sufficient freedom to pursue his climate studies.

These culminated in 1875 with the publication of his epoch-making book Climate and Time. A work of striking originality, it caused a profound stir in scientific circles both at home and abroad.

In 2010 the Quaternary Research Association established the James Croll Medal, its highest award for merit, in recognition of his work on the astronomical theory of ice ages and his seminal contributions on ocean circulation and its impact on recent climate.

Timeline

1821 Born at St. Martins, Little Whitefield, Perthshire on January 2nd. Son of David Croll, stonemason. Tried various occupations; millwright, insurance agent, etc.
1859 Obtained appointment as Keeper in Andersonian University, Glasgow. Pursued studies on electricity, heat and physics, causes of climatic changes. Accepted land ice theory.
1864 1st paper on cause of climatic change. Attracted attention of Lord Kelvin Ramsay and A. Geikie.
1867 Appointed to post of Secretary to Scottish Geological Survey.
1875 Published volume on “Climate and Time” (results of 11 years of research).
Other lines of research: Determination of present rate of subaerial denudation by ascertaining quantity of sediment annually carried down by rivers.
Suggested Scandinavian Scottish ice-sheets coalesced on floor of North Sea, moving west.
Investigated cause of glacier motion.
Attributed submergence during Glacial period to displacement of earth’s centre of gravity by polar ice-cap.
Philosophical questions. (Last work: “The Philosophical Basis of Evolution”.)
1872 Wollaston Fund.
1876 Hon. degree of LL.D. conferred by St. Andrews University. F.R.S., Honourable Member of New York Academy of Science (and later of – Bristol Natural Society, Psychological Society of Great Britain, Glasgow Geological Society, Literature and Antiquarian Society of Perth and Perthshire Society of Natural Sciences).
1877 Murchison Fund.
1881 Resigned from Survey (ill-health).
1890 Died December 15th.

Biographies and obituaries

Horne, J. Obituary notice of Dr. James Croll, F.R.S. Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society. v. 6 p.171-187.
List of papers and works in Appendix to Autobiographical Sketch pp. 527-535.
1907 Hist. Geol. Soc. London (1907) p 238.
1908 Hist. Geol. Soc. Glasgow (1908) p 204.