James Geikie

1839 - 1914

Geologist. Born in Edinburgh, the brother of Archibald Geikie (1835 - 1924). James Geikie was educated at the Royal High School and University in Edinburgh. He joined the Geological Survey of Scotland and was noted for his contribution to mapping the geology of the country. He wrote the standard work of the day on the glacial period, The Great Ice Age and its Relation to the Antiquity of Man (1874). Geikie succeeded his brother as Professor of Geology at the University of Edinburgh, a post which he held until 1914. He was also a founder of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

The Scots-American environmentalist John Muir (1838 - 1914) named a glacier in Alaska in Geikie's honour.

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