William Henry Fitton

Alfred Webb

A Compendium of Irish Biography

1878

Fitton, William Henry, M.D.,F.R.S., an eminent geologist, was born in Dublin, January 1780. At Trinity College he acquired his degree of B. A. in 1799. During a residence in Edinburgh, he formed the acquaintance of Sydney Smith, Jeffrey, Lord Brougham, and other eminent men; and in 1809 he removed to London. In 1811 he began to write geological articles, the first being on the geological structure of the neighbourhood of Dublin. In 1812 he settled as a physician at Northampton, occasionally contributing articles to the Edinburgh Review on his favourite study. As an original observer, he worked hard from 1824 to 1836, developing the true order of the secondary strata of England and France. He was President of the Geological Society, and a Fellow of the Royal and other scientific societies. He died in London, 13th May 1861, aged 81.

Sources

40. Biographical Division of English Cyclopaedia, with Supplement: Charles Knight, 7 vols. London, 1856-'72.

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