Simultaneous Development of Philately, Geology, and Palaeontology as a Result of the British Industrial Revolution.

Part 2: The British Industrial Revolution (1760s-1840s) and the formation of Geology

The British Industrial Revolution (1760s-1840s)

The 1830s were the time of industrial explosion and scientific discoveries.
The industrialization process that began in Great Britain in the 1760s brought innovative mechanisation and deep social changes. Many factories were built in the country. The invention of steam-powered machines, which were used in factories, caused many people to move from villages to the growing urban centres.

Landmark innovations and industries of the British Industrial Revolution depicted on Great Britain postage stamps issued in 2021. MiNr.: 4819-4824, Scott: 4140–4145.

Josiah Wedgwood, grandfather of Charles Darwin, was depicted on the second stamp in the top row of Great Britain 2009, dedicated to the British Industrial Revolution. Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, entrepreneur, and manufacturer who transformed the making of pottery from a cottage craft into an international industry. MiNr.: 2735-2742, Scott: 2645-2652.

Industrial Archaeology on UK stamps from 1989. MiNr.: Bl.5 (1210-1213), Scott: 1284.

The construction of canals gave William Smith, an English engineer and geologist who is best known for his development of the science of stratigraphy, an introduction to the geology of England as he made many observations on the rock that he excavated during the construction of canals.
Later in the Industrial Revolution after the invention of the steam engine and trains, railways became the preferred mode of transport for bulky goods. This required the construction of railroads - which just like canals led to more geologic investigations during the siting and constructing of the railroad lines.

Since the first railroad in Great Britain was built in 1825 between Stockton and Darlington, railways were built all over the country to transport goods, machines and resources, coal, etc.
Reforms also occurred in social life. In 1832, the Parliament passed a law that changed the British electoral system. It was known as the Great Reform Act, which gave the vote to middle class men.

Foundation of Geology and Paleontology

The 1830s were also the time of foundation of the sciences, Geology and Paleontology in Great Britain.

The increasing economic importance of mining in Great Britain made the possession of accurate knowledge about ores and their natural distribution critical. This need stimulated the rapid development of the science about deposits of different types of rocks and minerals, called Geology today. One of the first geologic maps was published in 1815 (by William Smith) followed by a second one in 1820 (by George Greenough). The British Geological Survey (the first Geological Survey in the world) was established in 1835 in London.

In the 1820s and 1830s the first three dinosaurs were named by British naturalists:
Megalosaurus was described by William Buckland in 1824,
Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus were described by Gideon Mantell in 1825 and 1833 respectively, without assigning them to any group of animals. The foundational concepts for this group were first introduced by Richard Owen, then Hunterian Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, during a landmark presentation in July 1841 at the British Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Plymouth, though he officially coined and published the term Dinosauria, meaning "terrible lizards," the following year, in 1842 (he was later knighted in 1883).

Charles Darwin sailed on the HMS Beagle around the world between 1831 and 1836.
His observations during the voyage led him to start thinking about animal adaptations to their living environment. These thoughts culminated in his most famous work “On the Origin of Species”, published in 1859. In this work, he presented his theory of evolution which became the foundation of all biology-related sciences including paleontology.

Charles Darwin exploring local fauna on Cabo Verde and Falkland Islands during his voyage on the HMS Beagle between 1831 and 1836.

Discovery of Prehistoric Marine Reptiles and Discussions About Extinction and Divine Creation

Mary Anning on stamp of UK 2024, MiNr.: 5391, Scott: 4484a.

Before the 19^th century, fossilized remains of prehistoric marine reptiles, were often misunderstood, their bones frequently misidentified as belonging to crocodiles or fish.
This changed after 1811 when Mary Anning (1799-1847) and her elder brother discovered a torso and a skull of an unfamiliar creature.

At the time Mary Anning lived, many people refused to believe fossils were the remains of once-living organisms, believing instead that they were just stones in curious forms. The reason for this perception was a strict religious belief in the Genesis account in the Bible. This find fueled intense 19^th century debates on extinction and divine creation, causing people to ask:
"Why would God, who created the Earth and all living organisms according to his divine plan, allow some species to disappear and vanish from the Earth?"

Following this discovery, the animal was formally described in 1814 by Sir Everard Home, who called it "an animal more nearly allied to fishes than any of the other classes of animals", because it was so bizarre and different from any known animal.
It was named Ichthyosaurus in 1818 by Charles König, then Keeper of Natural History at the British Museum, marking it as the first prehistoric marine reptile to spark widespread scientific classification and debate in Great Britain.
Later, in 1835, the order Ichthyosauria (or "fish-lizards") was established by French naturalist Henri de Blainville. In that same year, the British Museum purchased an exceptional Ichthyosaur specimen with a coprolite within its ribcage from Mary Anning, who since 1812 had found many fossils of prehistoric marine animals that were acquired by museums across Britain and overseas. The discovery of a coprolite (fossilized feces) within a fossil provided crucial evidence that the ichthyosaur was once a living animal, as only living organisms consume food and produce waste. This specific specimen is shown on the stamp below.

Ichthyosaurus communis/anningae with a coprolite within its ribcage, purchased by the British Museum from Mary Anning in 1835, on postage stamp of the Royal Mail 2024, MiNr.: 5392, Scott: 4484b.

Some science historians note that fossils recovered by Anning may have also contributed, in part, to the theory of evolution put forth by English naturalist Charles Darwin.
The fossil collected by Mary Anning and other fossil hunters in England, as well as the fossils collected by Charles Darwin himself in South America during his voyage on HMS Beagle convinced him that the Earth was once inhabited by animals and plants unlike any that are living today.

Anchors

#bir, #geology.