born March 23, 1769, Churchill, Oxfordshire, Eng.
died Aug. 28, 1839, Northampton, Northamptonshire
English engineer and geologist, known as the founder of the science of stratigraphy .
The son of a blacksmith, he was largely self-educated. He produced the first geologic map of England and Wales (1815), setting the style for modern geologic maps, and subsequently a series of geologic maps of the English counties. He introduced many techniques still used, including the use of fossils for the dating of layers. Current geologic maps of England differ from his primarily in detail, and many of the colourful names he applied to the strata are also used today.