PRESTWICH, SIR Joseph, English geolo gist: b. London, 12 March 1812; d. Shoreham, Kent, 23 June 1896. He spent one year at Uni versity College, London, continued his geological studies though at the age of 18 he entered his father's office and for many years he was a prominent wine merchant. The Geolog ical Society conferred a medal upon him in 1849, and he received like honors from the Royal Society in 1865. In 1864 he became a member of the Water Commission and in 1866 of the Royal Coal Commission. In 1870 he be came president of the Geological Society and in the same year married. In 1872 he retired from business. He became professor of geology at Oxford 1874 and though advanced in years for the adoption of a new profession his vast learning and the vigor with which he approached his new task enabled• him to'fill the position with great success. His most important researches relate to the Tertiary deposits, which he re arranged and reclassified, and evidences con cerning the existence of the prehistoric man. He also applied his knowledge to the practical question of obtaining from underground waters a better supply for cities. He retained his pro fessorship at Oxford until was connected with various important scientific societies and in 1896 was knighted. He was a Fellow of the
Geological Society, the Royal Society, the Chemi cal Society, the Geological Society of France, an associate of the Institute of Civil Engineers and an honorary and corresponding member of a number of English and foreign scientific so cieties. Oxford University gave him the de gree of D.C.L. in 1888. His writings reached the large number of 140. Of these the follow ing were published in book form: 'A Geolog ical Inquiry respecting the Water-bearing Strata of the Country around London, etc. (London 1851; new ed., 1895) ; 'The Ground beneath Us: Its Geological Phases and Changes, etc.> (London 1857) ; 'An Index Guide to the Geological Collections in the University Museum, Oxford) (Oxford 1881) ; 'Geology, Chemical, Physical and Stratigraphical) (2 vols., Oxford 1886-88) ; 'Collected Papers on Some Controverted Questions in Geology> (London 1895) ; 'On Certain Phenomena Belonging to the Close of the Last Geological Period, and on their Bearing upon the Tradition of the Flood> (London 1895). The balance of his writings was published in scientific journals and maga zines. Consult Lady Prestwich, 'Life and Let ters of Sir Joseph Prestwich' (Edinburgh 1899).