The Most Famous
GEOLOGISTS from Canada
This page contains a list of the greatest Canadian Geologists. The pantheon dataset contains 90 Geologists, 5 of which were born in Canada. This makes Canada the birth place of the 6th most number of Geologists behind France, and Russia.
Top 6
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Canadian Geologists of all time. This list of famous Canadian Geologists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. John Tuzo Wilson (1908 - 1993)
With an HPI of 53.94, John Tuzo Wilson is the most famous Canadian Geologist. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages on wikipedia.
John Tuzo Wilson (October 24, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was a Canadian geophysicist and geologist who achieved worldwide acclaim for his contributions to the theory of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that the rigid outer layers of the Earth (crust and part of the upper mantle), the lithosphere, is broken up into around 13 pieces or "plates" that move independently over the weaker asthenosphere. Wilson maintained that the Hawaiian Islands were formed as a tectonic plate (extending across much of the Pacific Ocean) shifted to the northwest over a fixed hotspot, spawning a long series of volcanoes. He also conceived of the transform fault, a major plate boundary where two plates move past each other horizontally (e.g., the San Andreas Fault). His name was given to two young Canadian submarine volcanoes called the Tuzo Wilson Seamounts. The Wilson cycle of seabed expansion and contraction (associated with the Supercontinent cycle) bears his name. One of the two large low-shear-velocity provinces was given the name Tuzo after him, the other being named Jason after W. Jason Morgan, who furthered Wilson's work into plume theory.
2. Norman L. Bowen (1887 - 1956)
With an HPI of 52.21, Norman L. Bowen is the 2nd most famous Canadian Geologist. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Norman Levi Bowen FRS (June 21, 1887 – September 11, 1956) was a Canadian geologist. Bowen "revolutionized experimental petrology and our understanding of mineral crystallization". Beginning geology students are familiar with Bowen's reaction series depicting how different minerals crystallize under varying pressures and temperatures."
3. Lawrence Lambe (1863 - 1919)
With an HPI of 45.38, Lawrence Lambe is the 3rd most famous Canadian Geologist. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Lawrence Morris Lambe (August 27, 1863 – March 12, 1919) was a Canadian geologist, palaeontologist, and ecologist from the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). His published work, describing the diverse and plentiful dinosaur discoveries from the fossil beds in Alberta, did much to bring dinosaurs into the public eye and helped usher in the Golden Age of Dinosaurs in the province. During this period, between the 1880s and World War I, dinosaur hunters from all over the world converged on Alberta. Lambeosaurus, a well-known hadrosaur, was named after him as a tribute, in 1923. In addition to paleontology, Lambe discovered a number of invertebrate species ranging from Canada to the Pacific Northwest. Lambe's contemporary discoveries were published in works such as Sponges From the Atlantic Coast of Canada and Catalogue of the recent marine sponges of Canada and Alaska.
4. Reginald Aldworth Daly (1871 - 1957)
With an HPI of 42.89, Reginald Aldworth Daly is the 4th most famous Canadian Geologist. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Reginald Aldworth Daly (May 19, 1871 – September 19, 1957) was a Canadian geologist. He is best known for being one of the first proponents of the giant-impact hypothesis of the formation of the Moon.
5. William Edmond Logan (1798 - 1875)
With an HPI of 39.04, William Edmond Logan is the 5th most famous Canadian Geologist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Sir William Edmond Logan, FRSE FRS FGS (20 April 1798 – 22 June 1875), was a Canadian-born geologist and the founder and first director of the Geological Survey of Canada.
6. Claudia Alexander (1959 - 2015)
With an HPI of 33.90, Claudia Alexander is the 6th most famous Canadian Geologist. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Claudia Joan Alexander (May 30, 1959 – July 11, 2015) was a Canadian-born American research scientist specializing in geophysics and planetary science. She worked for the United States Geological Survey and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She was the last project manager of NASA's Galileo mission to Jupiter and until the time of her death had served as project manager and scientist of NASA's role in the European-led Rosetta mission to study Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
People
Pantheon has 6 people classified as Canadian geologists born between 1798 and 1959. Of these 6, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased Canadian geologists include John Tuzo Wilson, Norman L. Bowen, and Lawrence Lambe. As of April 2024, 1 new Canadian geologists have been added to Pantheon including Claudia Alexander.
Deceased Canadian Geologists
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John Tuzo Wilson
1908 - 1993
HPI: 53.94
Norman L. Bowen
1887 - 1956
HPI: 52.21
Lawrence Lambe
1863 - 1919
HPI: 45.38
Reginald Aldworth Daly
1871 - 1957
HPI: 42.89
William Edmond Logan
1798 - 1875
HPI: 39.04
Claudia Alexander
1959 - 2015
HPI: 33.90
Newly Added Canadian Geologists (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Geologists were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Geologists since 1700.
