Daniel Sharpe facts for kids

Daniel Sharpe (6 April 1806 – 31 May 1856) was an English geologist. Geologists are scientists who study the Earth's rocks, landforms, and history. Daniel Sharpe was born in Marylebone, Middlesex. He explored many mountains in Great Britain and Europe. He made important discoveries about how rocks break and split, a process called rock cleavage.

Early Life and Business Career

Daniel Sharpe became an orphan before his first birthday. His half-sister took care of him. His mother's family owned a bank in London, and his uncle was a famous poet named Samuel Rogers. So, Daniel was not left alone.

When he was 16, he started working for a Portuguese merchant in London. At 25, after living in Portugal for a year, he joined his older brother. They became partners in a business that traded goods with Portugal.

Sharpe's Geological Discoveries

Daniel Sharpe became well-known for his geological studies. From 1832 to 1840, he researched the rocks around Lisbon, Portugal. He also studied ancient Silurian rocks in the Lake District and North Wales between 1842 and 1844. Later, from 1854 to 1855, he investigated the structure of the Alps mountains.

In 1850, he was chosen to be a member of the Royal Society. This is a very old and respected group of scientists.

Understanding Rock Cleavage

One of Sharpe's most important contributions was his work on rock cleavage. This is how rocks tend to split along flat surfaces. He published several papers on this topic from 1847 to 1852.

He studied how fossils in rocks were squashed and changed shape. From this, he figured out that the force that folded the rocks was at a right angle to the way the rocks split. This helped scientists understand how mountains form and how rocks change under pressure.

Publications and Legacy

Most of Daniel Sharpe's scientific papers appeared in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. One of his papers about rock cleavage in Scotland was published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1852.

He also wrote a detailed book about ancient sea creatures called Monograph on the Cephalopoda of the Chalk. This book was published by the Palaeontographical Society between 1853 and 1857.

In 1856, Daniel Sharpe was elected president of the Geological Society of London. Sadly, he died in London on May 31 of that year, after a riding accident.