William Buckland

William Buckland was an English theologian, geologist, and palaeontologist who lived from 12 March 1784 to 14 August 1856. He made important discoveries about the past by studying fossils and other clues from nature.

In the early 1820s, Buckland showed that Kirkdale Cave in North Yorkshire had once been a home for hyenas. For this work, he received the Copley Medal, and it was praised for showing how science could help us understand events from long ago. He was also the first person to fully describe a fossil dinosaur, which he named Megalosaurus, in 1824.

Buckland tried to connect his scientific work with religious beliefs. He supported the Gap Theory, which tried to match the Bible's story of creation with the idea that the Earth was very old. At first, he thought he had found proof of the biblical flood, but later he helped support the idea of glaciation, thanks to the work of Louis Agassiz.

Buckland also served as Dean of Westminster from 1845 until he passed away in 1856.

Early life

William Buckland was born in Axminster in Devon. As a child, he loved exploring with his father, who was a priest. Together, they collected interesting fossils, like spiral-shaped shells called ammonites, from old rocks in nearby quarries.

He went to school at Blundell's School and later Winchester College, where he earned a place at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He studied many subjects, including rocks and layers of earth, called geology and strata. After finishing his studies, he became a teacher and kept exploring nature all over England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. He also helped collect items for the Ashmolean Museum and met other smart people who studied the world, like Georges Cuvier.

Career, work and discoveries

Rejection of flood geology and Kirkdale Cave

In 1818, Buckland became a fellow of the Royal Society. That same year, he asked the Prince Regent to support a new position in geology, and he was the first to hold this role. He gave his first talk on May 15, 1819.

Buckland studied bones found in a cave in Yorkshire and realized the cave had been home to hyaenas long ago. The bones inside were from the hyaenas and their meals, not from animals that died in a big flood, as he first thought.

His careful study of the cave helped scientists understand how to look back into Earth’s past. For this work, he received the Copley Medal in 1822.

Megalosaurus

Main article: Megalosaurus

In 1824, Buckland shared his discovery of giant reptile bones found in Stonesfield. He named the creature Megalosaurus and described it in detail.

Marriage

In 1825, Buckland married Mary Morland from Abingdon, who helped him with his work. They traveled across Europe and had several children.

The Red Lady of Paviland

In 1823, Buckland found a very old skeleton in a cave in Wales. He thought it was from a long time ago and studied it carefully.

Coprolites and the Liassic food chain

Fossil hunter Mary Anning noticed special stones in old reptile fossils. Buckland studied these and realized they were fossils of animal waste. He called them coprolites.

Bridgewater Treatise

Buckland wrote a book about how nature shows the wonder of creation. He talked about many ideas about Earth’s history and how life changes over time.

Glaciation theory

Buckland learned about glaciers from a scientist named Louis Agassiz. He traveled to see glaciers and later helped others understand how glaciers shaped the land in Britain.

Illness and death

William Buckland became very ill with a problem in his neck and brain around 1850 and passed away from this in 1856. His son Frank later shared that a close look showed parts of William’s skull and neck were in a decayed state, which likely caused his illness.

Before William’s burial, a spot was chosen, but workers found solid rock just below the surface. They had to use special tools to dig through it. This might have been a playful joke by William, who loved studying rocks, just like a poem written about him many years before suggested.

The name "Buckland" is sometimes used when scientists mention plants he helped discover.

Jurassic Richard Whately author abbreviation citing botanical name

Known eccentricities

William Buckland had some unusual habits. He liked to wear his academic gown when doing fieldwork. During his lectures, he would act out the movements of dinosaurs to make his presentations more exciting. At home, he had a special table made with dinosaur coprolites, which is on display at the Lyme Regis Museum.

Buckland’s home was full of interesting specimens, both animal and mineral. He enjoyed trying to eat every type of animal, including unusual ones like moles and bluebottle flies. He also served surprising foods to his guests, such as alligator soup and pickled horse tongue, without always telling them what they were eating first.

Legacy

Several places and things are named after William Buckland. There is a ridge on the Moon called Dorsum Buckland, and an island in the Bonin Islands that was once named Buckland Island. In the village of Islip, there are plaques and special windows in a church to remember him. In New Zealand, there are peaks named after him, and in Alaska, a village also carries his name.

A type of moss was named after him by a botanist, and many years later, his contributions continued to be honored in different parts of the world.