Hamilton, William, 1777-1859

Epithet: of Add MS 19347

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001299.0x0001d7

Epithet: of Add MS 37315

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001299.0x0001d8

William John Hamilton (1805-1867), English geologist and eldest son of William Richard Hamilton (1777-1859), was born in London on July 5, 1805. Educated at the Charterhouse and at the University at Goettingen, he paid particular attention to modern languages and history. Since the German university, established in 1737, had been founded on the principles of the natural sciences, Hamilton's studies included these disciplines as well.

Upon leaving university in 1827, Hamilton served as attaché in Madrid and, briefly, in Paris, returning to England in 1829, at which time his interest in the sciences began to grow dominant. Studying geology under Roderick Impey Murchinson, he became a fellow of the Geological Society in 1831. After being introduced by Murchison, Hamilton and Hugh Strickland undertook a geological tour of the Levant, after which Hamilton continued on his own through Armenia and across Asia Minor, making careful topographical observations and keeping a full diary of geological matters. His two-volume, author-illustrated, work entitled "Researches in Asia Minor, Pontus, and Armenia, with some account of their antiquities and Geology" (1842) was presented to the Royal Geographical Society, which awarded it its founders' medal.

Hamilton's father, William Richard Hamilton (1777-1859), famous in his own right as an antiquarian and diplomat, was the founder of the Royal Geographical Society. As the secretary to Lord Elgin, he was instrumental in the acquisition of both the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone and through his efforts, became a trustee of the British Museum. His chief work, Aegyptiaca, appeared in 1809.

William John Hamilton continued to publish papers on such subjects as the rocks and minerals of Tuscany, the agate-quarries of Oberstein, and the geology of the Mayence Basin and of the Hesse Cassel district. He was chosen president of the Geological Society in 1854, having long been one of its most active members. He subsequently made various excursions in France and Belguim, and was re-elected president of the society in 1865. Resigning his post in 1866, Hamilton spent a year abroad returning to England shortly before his death on June 27, 1867. He left a son, Robert William, by his first wife, and three sons and four daughters by his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Henry, thirteenth viscount of Dillon, whom he had married in 1838.

From the guide to the William John Hamilton Papers, 1825-1828, 1825-1828, (American Philosophical Society)