Adam Sedgwick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Adam Sedgwick
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| Born | 22 March 1785 |
| Died | 27 January 1873 (aged 87) Cambridge, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Known for | Classification of Cambrian rocks; opposition to evolution and natural selection |
| Awards | Wollaston Medal (1833) Copley Medal (1863) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geology |
| Institutions | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Academic advisors | Thomas Jones John Dawson |
| Notable students | George Peacock William Hopkins Charles Darwin Joseph Jukes |
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Adam Sedgwick (22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was an important British geologist and Anglican priest. He is known as one of the people who helped start modern geology. He was the first to suggest the names for the Cambrian and Devonian periods of Earth's long history.
Sedgwick did a lot of his work on rocks in Wales. In 1835, he suggested the Cambrian period. He did this with Roderick Murchison, who also suggested the Silurian period. Later, in 1840, Sedgwick and Murchison suggested the Devonian period. This helped solve a big argument about rocks between the Silurian and Carboniferous periods.
Even though Sedgwick taught a young Charles Darwin about geology, he did not agree with Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Sedgwick also did not support women joining the University of Cambridge.
Contents
Adam Sedgwick's Life and Work
Early Life and Education
Adam Sedgwick was born in Dent, Yorkshire. He was the third child of a vicar, who is a type of priest. He went to Sedbergh School and then to Trinity College, Cambridge.
At Cambridge, he studied mathematics and theology. He earned his first degree in 1808 and his master's degree in 1811. He became a deacon in 1817 and a priest a year later. His teachers at Cambridge were Thomas Jones and John Dawson. In 1818, he became a Fellow of Trinity College and the Woodwardian Professor of Geology at Cambridge. He held this job until he died in 1873. It's interesting that when he took the geology job, he didn't know much about geology! A painting of Sedgwick from 1851 can be seen at Trinity College.
Discovering Geological Time
Sedgwick studied the geology of the British Isles and other parts of Europe. He created the way we classify Cambrian rocks today. With Roderick Murchison, he figured out the order of the Carboniferous and Devonian rock layers. Most of this work happened in the 1830s. Their studies into the Devonian period led to a big debate with Henry De la Beche, known as the Great Devonian Controversy.
Sedgwick also hired John William Salter to help organize the fossils in the Woodwardian Museum at Cambridge. Salter also went with Sedgwick on several trips to Wales to study geology between 1842 and 1845.
Sedgwick looked into how rocks change (this is called metamorphism) and how they form into hard lumps (this is called concretion). He was the first to clearly explain the differences between:
- Stratification: how rocks form in layers.
- Jointing: natural cracks in rocks.
- Slaty cleavage: how some rocks split into thin, flat pieces.
He became a member of the Royal Society in 1821. In 1844, he was chosen as an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also served as the president of the Geological Society of London.
Sedgwick's Views on Geology and Evolution
Faith and Science
The Church of England had many different beliefs during Sedgwick's time. There was a big difference between conservative and liberal church members. Sedgwick believed that science and faith worked together. He was very traditional in his views. In 1830, he told the Geological Society of London:
- "No opinion can be wrong, unless it is not true... Truths can never fight against each other."
He believed that if scientists honestly searched for truth, their findings would never go against moral or religious truths.
In the 1820s, Sedgwick supported the idea that some loose rocks and gravel were left behind by a worldwide flood, like Noah's flood. He even published papers about this in 1825. However, after studying more and talking with other geologists, he changed his mind. In 1827, after visiting Paris and the Scottish Highlands, he realized that these deposits were likely caused by local floods, not one big global flood. He publicly changed his mind in 1831.
Opposing Evolution
Sedgwick strongly believed that different kinds of living things were created by God at different times throughout history. He thought that any idea of development that didn't involve direct creation was wrong. For Sedgwick, moral truths (which make humans different from animals) were separate from physical truths. He felt that mixing them could lead to bad results.
He spoke out against "scriptural geologists" who tried to fit all geology into a strict reading of the Bible. He called their ideas "mischievous nonsense" and said they "sinned against plain sense." In 1844, he became famous for defending modern geology against attacks from the Dean of York, who said it went against the Bible. Sedgwick's bravery helped show that science and religion could be discussed openly.
When Robert Chambers secretly published his book Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation in 1844, which suggested a type of evolution, Sedgwick's friends wanted him to respond. Sedgwick at first ignored it, but then he read it carefully. In 1845, he wrote a very strong criticism of the book. He said that accepting the ideas in Vestiges was like falling away from God.
He wrote to his friend Charles Lyell that if the book were true, then "religion is a lie; human law is a mass of folly... morality is moonshine;... and man and woman are only better beasts!" Later, Sedgwick added a long section to his book Discourse on the Studies of the University of Cambridge (1850), where he again attacked Vestiges and other ideas of development.
Charles Darwin was one of Sedgwick's geology students in 1831. They even went on a field trip to Wales together that summer. They stayed in touch through letters while Darwin was on the Beagle expedition and after. However, Sedgwick never accepted Darwin's ideas about evolution in On the Origin of Species (1859).
When Sedgwick read Darwin's book, he wrote to Darwin:
- "I have read your book with more pain than pleasure... I think them utterly false & grievously mischievous."
He felt that Darwin's ideas were based on assumptions that couldn't be proven.
Sedgwick believed that natural selection was just a small part of a bigger plan. He thought that God acted through laws that humans could study. He stressed the difference between the moral and physical parts of life. He believed that if humanity ignored this difference, it would become "brutalized."
In another letter, Sedgwick was even harsher about Darwin's book. He called it "utterly false" and said it was "a dish of rank materialism cleverly cooked and served up." Despite these strong disagreements, Sedgwick and Darwin remained friends until Sedgwick's death.
Links to Slavery
Adam Sedgwick was a co-trustee of a will for Ann Sill, who owned slaves in Jamaica. In 1835, when slavery was abolished by the British government, Sedgwick received about £3,783 as compensation for 174 enslaved people. He was one of 46,000 people who received money during the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
Even though he received this money, Sedgwick was a strong supporter of ending slavery. He was a liberal in politics. In a letter from 1848, he wrote that signing a petition against the slave trade was the first "political act" of his life. His father had shown him "ugly pictures of the horrors of slavery" when he was a child.
Legacy
The Sedgwick Club, the oldest student geology club in the world, was started in his honor in 1880.
After Sedgwick died, people decided to build a new, larger museum to remember him. The geology collections had been kept in the Woodwardian Museum. Thanks to Professor Thomas McKenny Hughes, who took over Sedgwick's job, the new building was finished and opened in 1903. It was named the Sedgwick Museum.
In 1865, the University of Cambridge received money to create the Sedgwick Prize. This prize was given every three years for the best essay on a geology topic, honoring Adam Sedgwick. The first prize was given in 1873.
To celebrate 200 years since Sedgwick's birth, a special geology trail was made near Dent, his hometown. The Sedgwick Trail follows the River Clough, showing interesting rock features and exploring the Dent Fault.
Mount Sedgwick in British Columbia, Canada, was officially named after him in 1951.
Images for kids
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Adam Sedgwick's signature
See also
In Spanish: Adam Sedgwick para niños
