Talk:William Smith (geologist)

message: I'll be working on Mr. Smith - all are specifically invited to join in.
bob
I reduced the claim about first geological map as Robert Townson produced a map of Hungary in 1779 titled: New Map of Hungary, particularly its Rivers and natural Productions.  It used colours to indicate different rock types such as granite, micaceous Schist, schist, limestone, sandstone, calcareous tufaporphyry and tuff. GB 12:15, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: rather 1797 than 1779 ? I get 1797 from , anyway it change nothing as the first Smith's map was from 1799. - phe 17:19, 12 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Untitled

message: Note that the house picture is not smith's house...check out book Simon Winchester, The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology, (2001), New York: HarperCollins,  
Smith's house is actually another one.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.217.86.14 (talk) 20:55, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: No, that look like the right house, Tucking Mill Cottages as said by Winchester is not the right house, a bit at east there is another house which is the one on this image, see  showing Tucking Mill Cottages and at east the right house, the roof and the entrance are recognizable.  - phe 17:08, 12 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Errm, you're right, that's not the correct house, see Stop 9. Tucking Mill or  - phe 09:24, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I have changed the photo and caption for the correct house, per the information in Winchester's book, pp. 103-104. --DThomsen8 (talk) 19:43, 2 June 2011 (UTC)
replies: text:  Thank you. I had made the initial comment here.  Winchester's book is an excellent read! EGREGORY7380 (talk) 18:26, 16 March 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tucking Mill House 

message: I have added a pic of a map based closely on smiths map and a pic of his fossils. Peterlewis (talk) 20:51, 14 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: His map

message: Should there be more in the article on his debt to the work of John Strachey (geologist) as described here?— Rod talk 10:57, 13 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Relationship to work of John Strachey (geologist) 

message: Hi, I'm a new editor based at yorkshire museum were we are doing some new research into William Smith. We've started with an upload of a high resolution map (see right) and more should be coming soon. Looking forward to working with you all! NicolaOates (talk) 12:36, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  New edits from Yorkshire 

message: this BBC article almost certainly contains a bunch of info to expand/reference the article. EdwardLane (talk) 21:18, 23 March 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  First edition map found  

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to  on William Smith (geologist). Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080310201732/http://www.geolsoc.org.uk:80/gsl/geoscientist/features/page1017.html to http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/geoscientist/features/page1017.html
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.
Cheers. —cyberbot IITalk to my owner:Online 07:16, 29 August 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: * Smith W. Plan of proposed Somersetshire Coal Canal. London: J. Carry, 1794. 1 p.
* Smith W. Plan of proposed deviation of Somersetshire Coal Canal. London: J. Carry, 1794. 1 p.
* Smith W. A map of five miles round the City of Bath. Scale: 1,5 inch to a mile. Bath: A. Taylor & W. Meyler, 1799. 1 p.
* Smith W. Aсcurate delineation and descriptions of the natural order of the various strata that are found in different parts of England and Wales, with practical observation thereon: Prospectus of work. London: B. M’Millan, 1801. 4 p.
* Smith W. Mode of improving Boggy Land and account of the nine acres of Water-Meadow on Prisley farm near Fletwick, Westoning and Tingrith in Bedfordshire: Plan of a Water Meadow made out of a Bog on Prisley farm // Trans. Soc. Arts. 1805. N 23. P. 148-172.
* Smith W. Plan of a Water-Meadow of nine acres made out of a bog at Prisley farm belonging to His Grace the Duke of Bedford // Communications to the Board of Agriculture. 1805. N 4. P. 341: pl.
* Smith W. Observation on the utility, form and management of Water-Meadow, and the draining and irrigating of peat bogs, with an account of Prisley Bog, and other extraordinary improvements, conducted for His Grace the Duke of Bedford, Thomas William Coke, Esq. M.P. and others. London: R.M. Bacon, 1806. 121 p.
* Smith W. Strata of England and Wales: [Letter to the editor of Agricultural Magazine, 5 Jul. 1806] // Agric. Mag. 1806. Ser. 2. N 1. P. 21-22.
* Smith W. The improvement of boggy land by irrigation, as carried into effect // J. Natural Philosophy. 1806. Vol. 15. P. 302-312. 
* Smith W. Description of Norfolk, its soil and substrata. Norwich: [s.n.], 1807. [8], 56 p.
* Smith W. Bath-Easton Coal company: [Report. Bath. 7 March, 1808]. Bath: T.M. Cruttwell, 1808. 2 p.
* Smith W., Martin E. Bristol and Taunton Canal: Reports of Mr. William Smith and Mr. Martin, on the state of the collieries at and near Nailsea. Bristol: [s.n.], 1811. 8 p. 
* Smith W. [The Board of Agriculture sanction Map of the strata]. London, 1814. 1 p.
* Smith W. A delineation of the strata of England and Wales, with parts of Scotland; exhibiting the collieries and mines, the marshes and fen lands originally overflowed by the sea, and the varieties of soil according to the variations in the substrata, illustrated by the most descriptive names by William Smith. Scale: 1 inch to 5 miles: [1 Aug. 1815]. London: J. Cary, 1815. 16 p.; 2nd ed. 1820. 16 p.; 3rd ed. 1824. 16 p.; 4th ed. 1827. 16 p.
* Smith W. A memoir to the map and delineation of the strata of England and Wales with part of Scotland by William Smith, engineer and mineral surveyor: [1 Aug. 1815]. London: J. Cary, 1815. XI, 51 p.; Idem [Limited facsimile edition. 1 Aug. 2015]. Leeds: Hollingworth & Moss Ltd., 2015. VI, 26, IX, 51 p.
* Smith W. [Submission of Mineralogical map for an award to the Society for Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce: 8 Feb. 1815] // Trans. Soc. Arts. 1815. N 33. P. 51-60.
* Smith W. Strata identified by organized fossils, containing prints on colored paper of the most characteristic specimens in each stratum: [1 June 1816]. London: W. Arding [Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown]. 1816. 24 p. 
* Smith W. Geological table of British organized fossils, which identify the course and continuity of the strata in their order of superposition; as originally discovered by W. Smith, civil engineer, with reference to his geological map of England and Wales. London: J. Cary, 1817. 1 p.
* Smith W. Geological section from London to Snowdon, showing the varieties of the strata, and the correct altitudes of the hills. London: J. Cary, 1817. 1 p.
* Smith W. Section of strata, North Wilts. London: J. Cary, 1817. 1 p.
* Smith W. Strata south of London dipping northwards. London: J. Cary, 1817. 1 p.
* Smith W. Stratigraphical system of organized fossils, with reference to the specimens of the original geological collection in the British Museum: explaining their state of preservation and their use in identifying the British strata. London: E. Williams, 1817. xi, 118 p.
* Smith W. Geology of England: Mr. Wm Smith claims: [Lithograph pamphlet]. London: [s.n.], 1818. 14 p. 
* Smith W. Mr. Smith’s Report on the State of Monmouth: [10 Feb. 1818]. Health: [s.n.], 1818. 14 p.
* Smith W. Statement of facts: [Letter to the Committee of Management for the Diss Navigation. 4 Apr. 1818] // Benefits of an improvement in the navigation of the river Waveney: [Printed pamphlet]. Norfolk: [s.n.]. P. 4-11.
* Smith W. Report on the Plan for draining the Low Ground north and south of the river Went, berween the rivers Aire and Dun, in conjunction with the proposed Aire and Dun canal, and Went branch: [12 Sept. 1818]. Pontefract: W. Hunt, 1818. 10 p.
* Smith W. A new Geological Atlas of England and Wales (Part the first) containing maps of Kent, Sussex, Norfolk, and Wilts; showing the variety of strata, collieries, mines, etc.: 6 pts. London: J. Cary: Pt. 1. Maps of Norfolk, Kent, Wiltshire, and Sussex. 1819. 4 p.; Pt. 2. Gloucestershire, Berkshire, Surrey and Suffolk. 1819. 4 p.; Pt. 3. Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Essex. 1820. 4 p.; Pt. 4. p.; Pt. 5. Yorkshire. 1821. 4 p.; Pt. 5. Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Huntingdonshire and Rutland. 1821 (1822). 4 p.; Pt. 6. Cumberland, Durham, Northumberland and Westmoreland. 1824. 4 p.
* Smith W. Geological view and sections: [Surry; Essex and Hertfordshire; Norfolk and Suffolk;  Hampshire and Wiltshire to Bath; Dorsetshire and Somersetshire]. London: J. Cary, 1819.
* Smith W. A new geological map of England and Wales, with the inland navigations; exhibiting the districts of coal and other sites of mineral tonnage. Scale: 1 inch to 15 miles. London: J. Cary, 1820. 1 p.
* Smith W. [Syllabus of lectures given in Hull]. Hull: Hull Literary and Philosophical Soc., 1824. 4 p.
* Smith W. Syllabus of lectures on geology. [s.n.], 1824. 3 p. 
* Smith W., Phillips J. Syllabus of lectures on geology in the Town-Hall, Scarbough. Scarbough: J. Cole, 1824. 4 p.
* Smith W., Phillips J. Syllabus of 9 lectures in geology. Sheffield: Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Soc., 1825. 4 p.
* Smith W. On retaining water in the rocks for summer use by Mr. William Smith, engineer, M.Y.P.S.: [Read to Yorkshire Phil. Soc. 6 Mar. 1827] // Phil. Mag. 1827. N 1. P. 415.
* Smith W. Bed of coal at Robin Hood’s Bay // The Whitby Repository. 1830. N 6. P. 370-372.
* Smith W. A synopsis of geological phenomena. Oxford: S. Collingwood, 1832. 1 p.
* Smith W. Stratification in Hackness hills. Scale: 1 inch to 6.5 miles. London: W. Day, 1832. 1 p.
* Smith W. Deductions from established facts in geology relating to the crust of the globe, its former associated beings, concomitant events and superficial Changes. Scarborough: C. Todd, 1835. 1 p.
* Smith W. Coal finding // Mag. Nat. Hist. 1837. N 1. P. 645-647.
* Smith W. Practical distinction in minerals // Ibid. P. 386-387.
* Smith W. On the variations in the quantity of rain which falls in different parts of the Earth // 8th Meeting of the British Association: [Newcastle. 1838]: Trans. 1838. P. 27-28.
* Barry C., Beche de la H.T., Smith W., Smith C.H. Report of the commissioners appointed to visit the quarries and to enquire into the qualities of the stone to be used in building the New Houses of Parliament: [16 March, 1839] // Parliamentary Papers. 1839. N 30. P. 523-569.
We need a complete list. Please check and add what I miss. Thank you, --Ivtorov (talk) 15:24, 23 September 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Сomplete bibliography 

message: You removed this source on the grounds that the Taylor's are unrelated to Smith.  Richard Cowling Taylor, according to this book, was a pupil of Smith and himself an important geologist.  I have no access to the book, but it undoubtedly contains information on Smith, and may well have been used as a source for the article.  I'm inclined to restore it on those grounds unless there is further reason for its removal. SpinningSpark 17:08, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: On further investigation, I take that back.  The ref was inserted here by an IP editor to back up a dubious genealogical claim that was removed a couple of years later.  Together with the self-published nature of the book, it doesn't belong. SpinningSpark 17:22, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: I was just going to point that out, but the IP proceeded to make several additional changes, most long removed.  The ones that remain are edits to the lede summarizing well-documented material in the body, and the claim that he was orphaned and raised by his uncle.  Made in sequence, it is theoretically possible that the Taylor reference applied to this statement as well.  In the intervening 12 years, this sentence has become , with the age and the name of the uncle being additions, so presumably there is some other source for this more detailed account.  However, I have a concern, and that is that I found a statement "left an orphan at eight years old to the care of his uncle, William Smith", but it was referring to John Phillips being raised by our subject, not our subject by his own uncle.  It is possible that they both were orphaned at 8 and raised by an uncle named William Smith, but this seems like quite a coincidence, and I have to wonder if maybe we didn't somehow get the wrong end of the stick here.  I think rather than adding the Taylor ref back just in case it supports this fact, that instead we remove the claim until it can be independently verified, and then we can then cite that source rather than the obscure Taylor history. Agricolae (talk) 18:05, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text:  I agree.  Information from an SPS, inserted by an editor with an apparent POV to push, should not be trusted. SpinningSpark 20:35, 5 July 2019 (UTC)
replies: text:  I found the 'Wm Smith raised by uncle Wm' bit in Winchester, so I will be referencing it to that.  There will thus be nothing in the article dependent on the Taylor book. Agricolae (talk) 20:39, 23 September 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  A History of the Taylor Family 

message: Is this article accurate?  Is the writing of Winchester so far off ? Smith was largely a victim of his own making.  However, this article seems focused on making Smith a derelict ~  The truth always lay somewhere in the middle - this Wiki article is biased, and this isn't it. 170.144.228.30 (talk) 14:54, 28 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  bias