author
J. F. (John Frederick) Blake
1839–1906
A Victorian geologist and Anglican clergyman, he built a career that moved from mathematics and teaching into hands-on geological research. His books and papers helped shape how late-19th-century readers understood British strata, fossils, and the history of the earth.
1 Audiobook
Astronomical Myths: Based on Flammarions's "History of the Heavens"
by J. F. (John Frederick) Blake, Camille Flammarion
About the author
John Frederick Blake was a British geologist and Anglican clergyman, born on April 3, 1839, and educated at Christ's Hospital and Caius College, Cambridge. At Cambridge he earned distinction in both mathematics and natural science, then entered the church, serving curacies in Nottinghamshire and London before teaching at St Peter's School in York.
In the 1870s he turned more fully toward science. He taught comparative anatomy at Charing Cross Hospital, later became Professor of Natural Science at University College, Nottingham, and built a strong reputation in geology through research, teaching, and fieldwork. He also served as President of the Geologists' Association in 1891–1892.
Blake wrote widely on geology and related subjects, including The Yorkshire Lias and the long-running Annals of British Geology. He is remembered as a careful Victorian scholar who helped connect academic geology with a broader reading public. He died on July 7, 1906.