John Murray (oceanographer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir John Murray
|
|
|---|---|
Murray in c. 1899-1902
|
|
| Born | 3 March 1841 Cobourg, Canada West
|
| Died | 16 March 1914 (aged 73) Kirkliston, Midlothian, Scotland
|
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Spouse(s) |
Isabel Henderson
(m. 1889) |
| Children | 3 daughters, 2 sons |
| Awards | Makdougall-Brisbane Prize (1884–86) Neill Prize (1877–80) Cullum Geographical Medal (1899) Clarke Medal (1900) Vega Medal (1912) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Oceanography Limnology |
| Institutions | Challenger Expedition Commission (1872) Director of the Challenger Expedition Commission (1882) Established marine laboratories at Granton and Millport |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | J.Murray |
| Signature | |
 |
|
| Notes | |
|
President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (1898–1904)
President of the Scottish Natural History Society Member of the Scottish Meteorological Society |
|
Sir John Murray (born March 3, 1841 – died March 16, 1914) was a very important scientist. He was born in Canada but was Scottish. He studied the ocean, marine life, and even freshwater lakes! Many people call him the "father of modern oceanography" because he helped start this field of science.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
John Murray was born in Cobourg, Canada, on March 3, 1841. His parents had moved there from Scotland. He went to school in Canada before moving back to Scotland at age 17.
He continued his education at Stirling High School. Later, he joined the University of Edinburgh. He started studying medicine but did not finish his degree.
In 1868, John Murray joined a whaling ship called Jan Mayen. He worked as the ship's surgeon. During this seven-month trip, he visited places like Spitsbergen. He collected sea creatures and studied ocean currents and weather.
When he returned to Edinburgh, he went back to the University. He studied geology from 1868 to 1872.
The Challenger Expedition
In 1872, Murray helped get scientific tools ready for a big trip. This trip was called the Challenger Expedition. He joined the ship's crew as a naturalist, someone who studies nature.
The voyage lasted four years. Murray helped explore the oceans. He collected samples, made notes, and improved tools for studying the sea.
After the trip, Murray helped organize all the findings. He became the director of the Challenger offices in Edinburgh. In 1896, he published a huge report. It was called The Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of HMS Challenger. This report had more than 50 volumes!
Murray even renamed his house Challenger Lodge to remember the expedition.
Marine Laboratory in Granton
In 1884, Murray started the first marine laboratory in the United Kingdom. It was located in Granton, Edinburgh. This was a special place to study ocean life.
In 1894, the laboratory moved to Millport, Isle of Cumbrae. It became the University Marine Biological Station, Millport. This lab helped start the Scottish Association for Marine Science we know today.
Mapping Scotland's Freshwater Lochs
After finishing the Challenger reports, Murray began mapping Scotland's freshwater lochs (lakes). He worked with Frederick Pullar. They surveyed 15 lochs together over three years.
Sadly, Pullar died in an ice-skating accident in 1901. Murray thought about stopping the project. But Pullar's father encouraged him to continue. He even gave £10,000 to help finish the survey.
Murray led a team of almost 50 people. They took over 60,000 depth measurements. They also recorded other details about 562 lochs. The results were published in 1910. It was a six-volume work called Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland.
A mapmaker named John George Bartholomew drew all the maps for this survey.
North Atlantic Ocean Expedition
In 1909, Murray suggested a new ocean study. He wanted to explore the North Atlantic Ocean. He offered to pay for everything himself!
The Norwegian Government lent him a research ship called Michael Sars. A Norwegian marine biologist, Johan Hjort, joined him. In April 1910, they left Plymouth. For four months, they studied the ocean between Europe and North America. They looked at water depth, temperature, and marine life.
Murray and Hjort published their findings in 1912. Their book, The Depths of the Ocean, became a very important book for ocean scientists.
Murray was the first to notice the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is a huge underwater mountain range. He also found deep oceanic trenches. He even discovered sand from the Sahara desert in deep ocean sediments.
Awards and Recognition
John Murray received many awards for his amazing work:
- He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1877.
- He received the Neill Medal in 1877.
- He won the Makdougall Brisbane Prize in 1884.
- He was given the Founder's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 1895.
- He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1896.
- He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1898.
- He received the Cullum Geographical Medal in 1899.
- He was awarded the Clarke Medal in 1900.
- He got the Livingstone Medal in 1910.
- He received the Vega Medal in 1912.
He was also the president of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society from 1898 to 1904.
In 1911, Murray started the Alexander Agassiz Medal. This award honors his friend Alexander Agassiz. It is given by the National Academy of Sciences.
After he died, his money helped create the John Murray Travelling Studentship Fund. It also funded the 1933 John Murray Mabahiss Expedition to the Indian Ocean.
Death
Sir John Murray lived at Challenger Lodge in Trinity, Edinburgh. He had great views of the Firth of Forth.
On March 16, 1914, Murray was killed in a car accident. His car overturned near Kirkliston, west of his home. He is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh.
Tributes to Sir John Murray
Many things are named after Sir John Murray to honor him:
- The John Murray Laboratories at the University of Edinburgh.
- The John Murray Society at the University of Newcastle.
- The Scottish Environment Protection Agency research ship, the S.V. Sir John Murray.
- The Murray Glacier.
Animals Named After Him
Many animals are named in honor of Sir John Murray, especially sea creatures he helped discover or study:
- Cirrothauma murrayi is an almost blind octopus. It lives very deep in the ocean, from 1,500 to 4,500 meters (about 4,900 to 14,800 feet) down.
- The Murrayonida order of sea sponges.
- Silvascincus murrayi (Murray's skink), a type of Australian lizard.
- Halieutopsis murrayi (Murray’s deepsea batfish).
- Trachyrhynchus murrayi
- The salt water worm Phallonemertes murrayi.
- Murrayona
- Stellitethya murrayi
- The fish Triglops murrayi.
- Munneurycope murrayi
- Lanceola murrayi
- Potamethus murrayi
- Mesothuria murrayi
- Bythotiara murrayi
- Anthoptilum murrayi
- Sophrosyne murrayi
- Millepora murrayi
- Phascolion murrayi
- Munnopsurus murrayi
- Culeolus murrayi
- Deltocyathus murrayi
- Bathyraja murrayi
- Psammastra murrayi
- Lithodes murrayi
- Pythonaster murrayi
See also
- European and American voyages of scientific exploration
