author
George Frederick Harris
1862–1906
A Victorian geologist and palaeontologist, he wrote with a practical eye as well as a scientific one. His books connect fossils, clay, and industry in a way that still feels direct and useful.
1 Audiobook
The Science of Brickmaking
by George Frederick Harris
About the author
Born on September 13, 1862, George Frederick Harris was an English palaeontologist and geologist. He became one of the founders of the Malacological Society of London and was also a Fellow of the Geological Society.
An obituary published in Geological Magazine says he was born at Anglesey in Hampshire and studied at Netherhampton House School, then attended classes at King's College London and the Birkbeck Institution. His scientific work focused strongly on fossil molluscs and Tertiary geology.
He also wrote in a more applied, practical vein. That side of his work shows up clearly in The Science of Brickmaking, where geology is tied to materials and manufacturing rather than treated as a purely academic subject. He died on July 16, 1906, relatively young, but his writing still offers a vivid glimpse of late nineteenth-century science in action.