George Greenwood

George Greenwood (1799–1875) was an English army officer and writer from Brookwood Park in Hampshire. He was educated at Eton and entered the 2nd Life Guards in 1817, later rising to lieutenant-colonel and then colonel. Contemporary accounts remembered him as an exceptional rider and athlete, and later reference works called him one of the finest horsemen of his day.

After retiring from the army in 1840 because of heart trouble, he settled into country life, working with trees, reading widely, and turning more seriously to writing. His best-known early book is Hints on Horsemanship (1839), a practical riding guide that was highly praised in later biographical sources. He also published The Tree Lifter in 1844, expanding it in a later edition.

Greenwood became especially notable for his geological writing. His 1857 book Rain and Rivers argued strongly for the power of weathering and running water in shaping valleys, and he continued to press his views in later editions, letters, and essays. An obituary in the Geological Magazine said his name appeared frequently in geological correspondence for many years, reflecting both his persistence and the originality of his ideas.