Buckland, William

▪ British geologist

born March 12, 1784, Axminster, Devonshire, Eng.

died Aug. 15, 1856, London

      pioneer geologist and minister, known for his effort to reconcile geological discoveries with the Bible and anti-evolutionary theories.

      He disclaimed the theory of fluvial processes and held the biblical Deluge to be the agent of all erosion and sedimentation upon the Earth. He did much important work on paleontological (fossil) formations and was the first in England to note the evidence of glaciation. He wrote Reliquiae Diluvianae (1823; “Relics of the Deluge”) and Geology and Mineralogy Considered with Reference to Natural Theology (1836), published as one of the Bridgewater Treatises.

      Buckland was ordained an Anglican priest in 1808, and in 1813 he was appointed professor of mineralogy at Oxford University; he served as dean of Westminster from 1845 until 1856.

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