author
James Geikie
1839–1915
A leading Scottish geologist of the late 19th century, he helped shape how scientists understood the Ice Age and the glacial history of Britain. His books brought big geological questions to a wider audience while his teaching left a lasting mark at the University of Edinburgh.
2 Audiobooks
Geology
by James Geikie
About the author
Born in Edinburgh on 23 August 1839, he became one of Scotland’s best-known geologists, following an early career with the Geological Survey before succeeding his brother Archibald as Professor of Geology at the University of Edinburgh in 1882. He held that chair until 1914 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1875.
He is especially remembered for his work on glaciation and the Ice Age. Geikie argued that the recent geological past included more than one glacial episode, and he wrote influential books such as The Great Ice Age and Prehistoric Europe, helping readers connect landscapes, climate, and human prehistory.
Contemporaries also noted his gift for clear, lively writing. That mix of field science, teaching, and readable scholarship made him an important public interpreter of geology as well as a respected researcher.