Bust of George Bellas Greenough (1778-1855)
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Marble portrait bust of George Bellas Greenough, by Richard Westmacott, 1843. (GSL/POR/22) Photograph by Alistair Fyfe, 2009.
Provenance: Commissioned by the Society in 1842. |
One of the original founders of the Geological Society George Bellas Greenough, originally named George Bellas, was born in London in 1778. He was left an orphan by the age of 6, but inherited a large fortune from his maternal grandfather, a wealthy chemist who had made his money from the manufacturing of patent remedies such as ‘Greenough’s Liver Pills’.
He studied at Cambridge with ideas of going into law, but whilst at the University of Göttingen in 1798, Greenough became influenced by the natural history lectures of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (which he had attended initially to improve his German). By the time of his return to Britain in 1801 he had developed an interest in geology.
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Greenough's 'Geological Map of England & Wales (1820) (LDGSL/979A) |
Greenough was the Society’s first President between 1807-1813, but served a further two terms between 1818-1820 and 1833-1835. The bust was commissioned by Fellows of the Society at a cost of £100, paid by subscription, to memorialise Greenough’s standing and influence on the science of geology for future generations.
Find out more about Greenough and his mapping of the British Isles