Resources from past events organised by the History of Geology Group can be found below. If there is an event you would like details for, or if you have questions about any past meeting resources that we can make available, please email us.
The Geological Society’s Map: understanding George Bellas Greenough and his 1820 geological map project
Date: 6 May 2021
A bicentenary online conference in association with the Department of Earth Sciences, University College London. A full-day conference comprised eleven presentations that was originally intended to be held in 2020 to mark the bicentennial of the publication of the early geological map of England and Wales, commonly known as ‘Greenough’s map’. The physical conference was postponed due to pandemic restrictions, and these were still in force a year late resulting in an online conference. It was, nevertheless, very successful.
The Genesis of Geology in York and Beyond
Date: 23–24 October 2019
A two-day meeting organised in association with the Yorkshire Philosophical Society (Geology Section) and supported by York Museums Trust. This event celebrated HOGG 25th Anniversary. The programme comprised a one-day conference with six talks on the early development of geology and the activities of geologists in Yorkshire, followed by viewing tours of four key related geological artefacts from the collections at the Yorkshire Museum. The second day visited two significant field locations in North Yorkshire, the Kirkdale Cave and the magnetic ironstone works at Rosedale.
Aspects of the History of Coal and its Mining
Date: 22 November 2018
A one-day meeting at the Geological Society, Burlington House, London. The meeting was focused on applied aspects of coal geology; concerned less with the history of geological ideas or concepts and more with the things that geologists and other professionals do, or did, or didn’t do when working in the coal sector.
HOGG Open Meeting
Date: 9 May 2018
A one-day meeting for HOGG members to share work of ongoing and completed but yet unpublished history of geology projects ranging across a wide range of topics from palaeontology to polar geology to geophysics, early plate tectonics, and more.
William Smith Conference
Date: 23–24 April, 2015
A two-day conference to mark the bicentenary of the publication of William Smith’s iconic 1815 map ‘ A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales’, held at the Geological Society, Burlington House, London. Full papers were published in a special issue of the journal Earth Sciences History, 2016, 35 (1).
Geology and Medicine
Date: 1–2 November 2011
Medicine was essentially the birthplace for both natural science and geology and the first descriptions of rocks, minerals and fossils are often attributed to early physicians. One of the first pharmacies opened on the Arcadian Way in Ephesus around 400BC whereas the Egyptians prescribed mineral salts ground by mortar and pestle. Nicholas Steno (1638-1686) was an early example of a physician cum palaeontologist whereas James Parkinson (1755-1824) was a founding father of the Geological Society of London. This conference was dedicated to the memory of such personalities.
Geological Collectors and Collecting Conference
Date: 4–5 April 2011
The conference covered the collecting of geological maps and books in addition to the collecting of fossils, rocks and minerals.
Professor Richard Fortey of the Natural History Museum London opened the conference with a talk highlighting Natural History Museum collectors and collecting, including his own personal experiences as a fossil collector. The tours offered participants a rare opportunity to see behind-the-scenes in the palaeontology, rock and minerals departments at the Natural History Museum, and to view exhibits of rare books and maps in the Museum's library. The workshops provided hands-on advice on organising and conserving geological collections of all types and sizes – including the sort of small private collections many of us have amassed in our own homes and garages.
Geology in the History of Provincial Scientific Societies
Date: 9 April 2010
On-shore Hydrocarbons Use
Date: 20–22 April 2007