Charlotte Murchison
| Charlotte Murchison | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Charlotte Hugonin 18 April 1788 Nursted House, near Petersfield, Hampshire |
| Died |
9 February 1869 (aged 80) Belgravia, London |
| Fields | Geology |
| Spouse | Roderick Murchison |
Charlotte Murchison (née Hugonin; 18 April 1788 – 9 February 1869) was a Scottish amateur geologist. Married to the nineteenth century geologist Roderick Impey Murchison, she had a strong influence in the career of her husband.
In 1815, Charlotte Hugonin met Roderick Murchison and married him on 15 August of the same year. She was the daughter of General Francis Hugonin (d. 1836). She remembered her father as someone who was very intelligent and she remembered her mother as a skillful florist and botanist[1] Her husband followed some rather expensive pursuits and in an attempt to occupy him in more intellectual pursuits, Charlotte traveled throughout France, the Alps, and Italy with him in 1816–1818.[2] On the trip, Charlotte would look at wild-flowers that were abnormal to certain altitudes, mountains, and rocks.[1]
They met Mary Somerville (1780–1872), who was a scientific writer and became a lifelong friend of the couple.[1]
Unfortunately, during her travels to Rome in 1817. Charlotte contracted malaria while her traveling companions became ill from exhaustion. Despite her disease, she was able to nurse Roderick Murchison and Charles Lyell back to health.[3]
During this time Charlotte became very interested in geology and after much persuasion, her husband also developed an interest in the subject in 1824. By 1825, Charlotte and Roderick were involved in geology field trips in the south coast of England. However it was Charlotte who began to collect fossils and sketch the rocky outcrops of the coastline. This was the first of many field trips with eminent geologists including Mary Anning (1799–1847). Charles Lyell described her as an invaluable assistant. Lyell and the Murchisons travelled in Europe in 1828, with Charlotte engaged in fossil collecting and sketching geological structures and landscapes,[3] which she was taught by Paul Sandby.[3] She accompanied her husband on his geological fieldwork tours of England and Wales 1831 to 1836, and contributed many drawings and sketches to the resulting seminal work, 'The Silurian System', produced by Roderick in 1839.
In 1838 when her mother died, Charlotte was left a significant fortune. The couple were able to move to a prestigious house at 16 Belgrave Square, London. Their soirees became a meeting place for scientists and politicians as a result of Charlotte's hospitality skills.
Later Somerville wrote in her autobiography of how Roderick Murchison had made a name for himself in the world of geology.[1] She recounted "At the time he hardly knew one stone from another. He had been an officer in the Dragoons, an excellent horsemen, and a keen fox-hunter. Lady Murchison was an amiable and accomplished woman, with solid acquirements which few ladies at that time possessed. She had taken to the study of geology; and soon after her husband began that career which has rendered him the first geologist of our country".[1]
Charlotte Murchison died on 9 February 1869 at Belgrave Square, London.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Kölbl-Ebert, Martina (1997). "Charlotte Murchison (Née Hugonin) 1788-1869". Earth Sciences History. 16 (1): 39–43. doi:10.17704/eshi.16.1.97014235w8u4k414.
- ↑ Kölbl-Eber, Martina (2004). "Murchison [née Hugonin], Charlotte". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
- 1 2 3 Kölbl-Ebert, Martina (2007). "The geological travels of Charles Lyell, Charlotte Murchison and Roderick Impey Murchison in France and northern Italy (1828)". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 287 (1): 109–117. Bibcode:2007GSLSP.287..109K. doi:10.1144/SP287.9. ISSN 0305-8719.
- ↑ "MURCHISON Dame Charlotte". England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966. Ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 30 October 2013.