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SUMMARY:Exploring John Woodward's scientific writing in his catalogues of 
 fossils (1728\, 1729) - Ken McNamara (Sedgwick Museum)
DTSTART:20170522T120000Z
DTEND:20170522T130000Z
UID:TALK72293@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Edwin Rose
DESCRIPTION:The 9\,600 specimens that form the geological collection of Dr
  John Woodward (1667–1728) were\, in part\, bequeathed to the University
  of Cambridge. Of the four cabinets that housed his collection\, the two n
 ot bequeathed were purchased by the University from Woodward's executors\,
  thus keeping the collection intact. Woodward was meticulous in detailing 
 the provenance of his specimens\, whether collected by himself or donated 
 by others. This he did in a number of hand-written catalogues which are ho
 used today in the Sedgwick Museum's archives. These catalogues\, subsequen
 tly published in two volumes after Woodward's death\, are not merely lists
  of specimens. They contain many of Woodward's ideas on geology\, mineralo
 gy and palaeontology. Although he is best remembered for his contentious _
 An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth:..._ published in 1695\, th
 e catalogues contain a wealth of observations and interpretations of the g
 eological world by Woodward that were\, in many cases\, hundreds of years 
 ahead of their time. Along with a discussion of his classification of rock
 s and minerals\, and hierarchical classification of fossilised organic rem
 ains\, I will examine a number of his insightful interpretations based on 
 his collection\, especially in palaeoecology and taphonomy\, showing that 
 Woodward deserves to be credited with being one of the first scientific ge
 ologists.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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