author
James Croll
1821–1890
A self-taught Scottish scientist, he helped change how people think about ice ages by linking long-term climate shifts to variations in Earth’s orbit. His path to science was anything but ordinary, moving through jobs from millwright to janitor before his ideas won international attention.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Perthshire in 1821, James Croll left school young and educated himself largely through reading and independent study. Before becoming known for his scientific work, he held a remarkable range of jobs, including work as a millwright, tea merchant, hotel keeper, insurance agent, and janitor.
While working at the Andersonian Museum in Glasgow, he found the time and access to books that helped launch his scientific career. Croll developed an influential theory that changes in Earth’s orbit could drive great swings in climate, including the coming and going of ice ages. His work helped lay foundations for later orbital climate theory and brought him recognition from leading scientists of his day.
He later worked for the Geological Survey of Scotland and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1876. Although later figures often received more public credit for related ideas, Croll is now widely remembered as an important pioneer in the study of climate change and glaciation.