Alexander du Toit: Difference between revisions
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In 1933, du Toit was awarded the [[Murchison Medal]] by the [[Geological Society of London]], and in 1943 became a [[Fellow of the Royal Society|Fellow]] of the [[Royal Society]]. In 1949, the year after du Toit's death, the [[Geological Society of South Africa]] inaugurated a biennial lecture series in his honour that continues to the present day<ref>[http://www.gssa.org.za/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=69 The De Beers Alex du Toit Memorial Lecture 2006], [[Geological Society of South Africa]], retrieved 9 July 2007</ref>. In 1973, a 75 km [[Impact crater|crater]] on [[Mars]] (71.8°S, 49.7°W) was named "Du Toit" in recognition of his work<ref>[http://ic.arc.nasa.gov/projects/bayes-group/Atlas/Mars/features/d/du_toit.html Du Toit crater], [http://ic.arc.nasa.gov/projects/bayes-group/Atlas/Mars/ Atlas of Mars], [[NASA]], retrieved 9 July 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.google.com/mars/#lat=-71.421929&lon=-49.658203&zoom=8&q=craters%20du%20Toit Du Toit crater], [[Google Maps#Google Mars|Google Mars]], retrieved 10 July 2007</ref>. |
In 1933, du Toit was awarded the [[Murchison Medal]] by the [[Geological Society of London]], and in 1943 became a [[Fellow of the Royal Society|Fellow]] of the [[Royal Society]]. In 1949, the year after du Toit's death, the [[Geological Society of South Africa]] inaugurated a biennial lecture series in his honour that continues to the present day<ref>[http://www.gssa.org.za/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=69 The De Beers Alex du Toit Memorial Lecture 2006], [[Geological Society of South Africa]], retrieved 9 July 2007</ref>. In 1973, a 75 km [[Impact crater|crater]] on [[Mars]] (71.8°S, 49.7°W) was named "Du Toit" in recognition of his work<ref>[http://ic.arc.nasa.gov/projects/bayes-group/Atlas/Mars/features/d/du_toit.html Du Toit crater], [http://ic.arc.nasa.gov/projects/bayes-group/Atlas/Mars/ Atlas of Mars], [[NASA]], retrieved 9 July 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.google.com/mars/#lat=-71.421929&lon=-49.658203&zoom=8&q=craters%20du%20Toit Du Toit crater], [[Google Maps#Google Mars|Google Mars]], retrieved 10 July 2007</ref>. |
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HE IS A HOMO |
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==Significant publications== |
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* du Toit, A.L. (1926) ''The Geology of South Africa'', Oliver & Boyd, London, UK |
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* du Toit, A.L. and Reed, F.R.C. (1927) ''A Geological Comparison of South America with South Africa'', Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, USA |
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* du Toit, A.L. (1937) ''Our Wandering Continents; An Hypothesis of Continental Drifting'', Oliver & Boyd, London, UK |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 21:08, 5 January 2010
Alexander Logie du Toit | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 March 1878 |
| Died | 25 February 1948 (aged 69) |
| Nationality | South African |
| Alma mater | University of the Cape of Good Hope Royal Technical College Drury College Royal College of Science |
| Awards | Murchison Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geologist |
| Institutions | Geological Commission of the Cape of Good Hope De Beers Consolidated Mines |
Alexander Logie du Toit (pronounced "duh tooey") (14 March 1878 – 25 February 1948) was a geologist from South Africa, and an early supporter of Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift[1].
Born in Newlands, Cape Town in 1878, du Toit was educated at the Diocesan College in Rondebosch and the University of the Cape of Good Hope. Encouraged by his grandfather, Captain Alexander Logie, he graduated in 1899 in mining engineering at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow. After a short period studying geology at the Royal College of Science in London, he returned to Glasgow to lecture in geology, mining and surveying at the University of Glasgow and the Royal Technical College.
In 1903, du Toit was appointed as a geologist within the Geological Commission of the Cape of Good Hope, and he began to develop an extensive knowledge of the geology of southern Africa by mapping large portions of the Karoo and its dolerite intrusions, publishing numerous papers on the subject. Subsequently he mapped the entire Karoo System through the complete stratigraphy from Dwyka tillite to the basalt of the Drakensberg. He worked at a furious rate but was known for his painstaking meticulousness. In 1920 he joined the Union Irrigation Department as water geologist, and in 1927 became chief consulting geologist to De Beers Consolidated Mines, a position he held to his retirement in 1941.
In 1923, he received a grant from the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and used this to travel to eastern South America to study the geology of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Struck by the similarities to South Africa, du Toit published a review of the stratigraphic and radioisotope evidence from these regions that supported Alfred Wegener's ideas, A Geological Comparison of South America with South Africa (1927). A later book, Our Wandering Continents (1937), expanded and improved this work, and, departing somewhat from Wegener, proposed two original supercontinents separated by the Tethys Ocean, a northern/equatorial Laurasia and a southern/polar Gondwanaland.
In 1933, du Toit was awarded the Murchison Medal by the Geological Society of London, and in 1943 became a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1949, the year after du Toit's death, the Geological Society of South Africa inaugurated a biennial lecture series in his honour that continues to the present day[2]. In 1973, a 75 km crater on Mars (71.8°S, 49.7°W) was named "Du Toit" in recognition of his work[3][4].
HE IS A HOMO
References
- ^ Hancock, Paul L.; Skinner, Brian J.; Dineley, David L. (2000), The Oxford Companion to The Earth, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-854039-6
- ^ The De Beers Alex du Toit Memorial Lecture 2006, Geological Society of South Africa, retrieved 9 July 2007
- ^ Du Toit crater, Atlas of Mars, NASA, retrieved 9 July 2007
- ^ Du Toit crater, Google Mars, retrieved 10 July 2007
External links
- Biography (Charles H. Smith, Western Kentucky University)
- Obituary notice (Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 6, 385-395, Nov. 1949)
- Review of biography of du Toit (Geographical Review 41, 513-514)
- Alexander du Toit's map of two ancient supercontinents (more details here; Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory)
- Alexander du Toit papers and letters archive (University of Cape Town)
