Noel Benson facts for kids

William Noel Benson was an important scientist who studied geology. He was born in England in 1885. He became a well-known researcher and teacher.

Benson worked in both Australia and New Zealand. He helped grow the study of geology in these regions. He published over 100 scientific papers. He also won several important awards for his work. These included the Clarke Medal and the Lyell Medal. He passed away in 1957.

Early Life and School Days

Noel Benson was born on December 26, 1885. His birthplace was Anerley, a town in London, England. His father, William Benson, was a shipping manager. The family were Quakers, a religious group.

Soon after Noel was born, his family moved to Tasmania. This is an island state of Australia. He went to the Friends' School, Hobart from 1897 to 1902.

Studying Geology

Benson first studied science at the University of Tasmania. Then, in 1905, he started studying Geology and Mineralogy. He went to the University of Sydney in Australia. There, he was taught by a famous geologist, Sir Edgeworth David.

Even before he finished his degree, Benson published his first paper. It was about how heat from a granite body changes nearby rocks. In 1907, he graduated with top honors. After that, he worked for a short time at the University of Adelaide.

During his time in Adelaide, he wrote three more papers. Two of them were about the types of rocks found in the Barossa Range. These rocks were very old, from the Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian periods. His third paper was about the shapes of the land in the Mount Lofty Ranges. This is called geomorphology.

A Career in Teaching and Research

In 1909, Benson went back to the University of Sydney. He worked there as a demonstrator in the Geology Department. This meant he helped students with their practical work.

Moving to Cambridge

In 1910, he won a special scholarship. It was called the 1851 Exhibition Science Scholarship. This allowed him to study at the University of Cambridge in England. He moved there in 1911.

At Cambridge, he worked with other important geologists. These included John Edward Marr and Alfred Harker. He studied at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences. In 1913, he earned his BA (Research) degree from Cambridge. He then spent time traveling around Europe with his family.

Return to Australia and New Zealand

Benson returned to the University of Sydney in 1914. He took on a special research role called the Macleay Fellowship in Geology. In 1915, he became a lecturer in the Geology Department.

In 1917, he moved to New Zealand. He became the head of the Geology Department at the University of Otago. He stayed there for many years, until 1951. For the first nine years at Otago, he was the only lecturer in the department.

Important Discoveries and Awards

Even though he was the only teacher, Benson still published many papers. One of his most important works was about the rocks in East Otago, New Zealand. These rocks were from the Cenozoic Era.

Throughout his life, he wrote over 100 scientific papers. He was also a leader in the scientific community. In 1921, he became President of the geology section of a big science group in Australasia. From 1945 to 1947, he was president of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Benson received many awards for his work. These included:

• The Lyell Fund (1937) and Lyell Medal (1939) from the Geological Society of London.
• The Hector Medal (1933) and Hutton Medal (1944) from the Royal Society of New Zealand.
• The Clarke Medal (1945) from the Royal Society of New South Wales.
• The Mueller Medal (1951) from the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science.

In 1949, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists. In 1951, he became an honorary member of the Mineralogical Society of London.

After retiring from the University of Otago in 1951, he kept writing papers. When he died in 1957, he was working on an update to his paper about the rocks of East Otago. His biggest impact was helping geology grow as a field of study in Australia and New Zealand.