Kingsley Dunham facts for kids

Sir Kingsley Charles Dunham (born January 2, 1910 – died April 5, 2001) was a very important British geologist and mineralogist. Geologists study the Earth's rocks and history. Mineralogists study minerals. He taught geology at the University of Durham from 1950 to 1971. Later, he became the director of the British Geological Survey from 1967 to 1975. This is a big organization that studies the geology of Britain.

Kingsley Dunham's Early Life

Kingsley Dunham was born in Sturminster Newton, a town in Dorset, England. When he was young, his family moved to Durham. He went to the Durham Johnston School. Then, he earned a special scholarship to Hatfield College, Durham. In 1930, he finished his geology degree with top marks. At that time, a famous geologist named Arthur Holmes was his professor.

Kingsley was also a talented musician. He was an organ scholar while at university. After graduating, he studied the ore deposits in the Pennines area of northern England. Ore deposits are places where valuable minerals are found in rocks. He earned his PhD in 1932 for this research.

Kingsley Dunham's Career in Geology

Studying at Harvard University

Kingsley Dunham went to Harvard University in the United States. He studied there with a special scholarship called a Commonwealth Fund Fellowship. This helped him earn a master's degree.

Working for the British Geological Survey

After his studies, he came back to the UK. He worked as a geologist for the British Geological Survey. He focused on iron ores found in Cumbria. Iron ore is a rock that contains iron, which is used to make steel. This work was very useful during World War II. He helped find important mineral resources in the North of England. Later, his work was published in a famous book called The Geology of the North Pennine Orefield.

Professor at Durham University

In 1950, Kingsley Dunham returned to Durham University. He became a geology professor there. During his time, he oversaw a special drilling project. They drilled a deep hole called the Rookhope borehole. This drilling helped them discover a hidden granite rock formation under the Pennines. His colleague, Martin Bott, had predicted this granite would be there.

Leading the British Geological Survey

In 1967, Kingsley Dunham became the director of the British Geological Survey. Just like at Durham, he helped this organization grow a lot. They started studying new areas like geophysics (the physics of the Earth), oceanography (the study of oceans), and geochemistry (the chemistry of the Earth). He was made a knight in 1972 for his important work. This means he was given the title "Sir."

After he retired in 1975, Sir Kingsley went back to Durham. He continued to publish more work on the mineralogy of the North of England.

Honours and Awards

Sir Kingsley Dunham received many awards and honours for his work.

• In 1955, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very old and respected group of scientists. He also served on their council.
• He received the Royal Medal from the Royal Society in 1970.
• He was the President of the Yorkshire Geological Society from 1958 to 1959.
• In 1963, he was given the Sorby Medal by that same society.
• In 1973, he gave a major speech at the British Association meeting in Canterbury.
• He received special honorary doctorates from more than ten universities. These were from both the UK and other countries.
• In 1976, he was awarded the Wollaston Medal from the Geological Society of London. This is a very high honour in geology.

From 1990 to 2012, the main building of the British Geological Survey was named the Kingsley Dunham Centre in his honour. This building was a big project that Sir Kingsley helped make happen when he was director. It opened in 1976, shortly after he retired.

Later Life

In his later years, Sir Kingsley Dunham's eyesight got worse. Eventually, he became completely blind. Even so, he still went to weekly meetings of the Arthur Holmes society in Durham. His friend and colleague, Dr. Tony Johnson, helped him attend.

Sir Kingsley's son, Ansel, was also a geology professor. He taught at the University of Hull and the University of Leicester. Ansel passed away before his father.