Portrait of William Smith (1769-1839)
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Portrait in oils of William Smith, by Hugues Fourau, 1837. (GSL/POR/15)
Provenance: presented to the Society by William Smith (of Cheltenham), 1880.
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The Society's copy of the Smith's map, in front of which is a plaster portrait bust of Smith (GSL/POR/28), based on the marble original by Matthew Noble, 1848. Photograph by Alistair Fyfe, 2009. |
Despite this achievement, Smith was never a Fellow of the Society, probably due to his low social and economic status. ‘Strata Smith’ or ‘The Father of English Geology’ was, however, the recipient of the first Wollaston Medal in 1831 – still the Society’s highest award.