Scientist of the Empire : Sir Roderick Murchison, Scientific Exploration and Victorian Imperialism

Rating:
Summary: The first bureaucrat of science
Review: According to one school of thought, historical studies should elucidate the great unfolding meaning and message of events. For others history merely consists of one damn thing after another. Robert Stafford appears to lean towards the second view and fortunately Murchison (1792-1871) was involved in enough important things to make his life story valuable. It would be even more valuable and interesting if the author had deployed a better theory than Gramski's doctrine of hegemony for the final summary. The lack of a robust theoretical framework prevents the book from delivering on the dustjacket promise to illuminate the broader intimacy between science and government.

In his youth Murchison might well have been voted the least likely of his contemporaries to succeed in the life of the mind. At school he was a dreadful student and he turned to a military career. This helped to prepared him for his ultimate vocation because at military college he studied topographical appraisal and draughtsmanship, two of the vital skills for geological fieldwork. He served in the Spanish campaign against Napoleon but the end of hostilities in 1815 destroyed his hopes for military glory. Relegated to a backwater in Ireland he diverted himself with riding, hunting, drinking bouts and visits to London where he paraded as a dandy. He also attended lectures by Sir Humphrey Davy at the Royal Institute for Science.

This unlikely combination of activities won him the hand in marriage of a cultured lady, Charlotte Hugonin, only daughter of a wealthy general. She encouraged him to develop more refined interests in the course of a prolonged Continental tour. He undertook prodigious walking expeditions and showed a keen eye for country and a willingness to describe it in detail. Back in England he reverted to fox hunting on his country estate until the problem of debt and a partridge shooting expedition with Sir Humphrey Davy inspired him to turn to Science.

The couple moved to a rented house in London until the death of Charlotte's father some years later enabled them to occupy a mansion in Belgrave Square. This, at page 15 (circa 1842) is the last mention of wife, family, or social life in the book. The strangest feature of this biography is the complete absence of any sense of the subject as a flesh and blood man (or a person) living a life among people.

Fifteen years of intensive fieldwork mapping the Silurian sediments in Wales provided the foundation for his scientific reputation. After his early and important contribution, he did not appear to shift his opinion on any matter of theoretical interest. During that time he established close social and working relationships with all the major geologists in Europe. He also began his pursuit of power and influence in the scientific societies, initially the Geological Society where he became the Foreign Secretary in 1828. For many years he was on the council of the Royal Society, also he was a trustee of the British Museum and an active office bearer in practically any other society or club that could advance his interests. If the suitable organisation did not exists he created it. He was a founding member of the Athanaeum Club, the Royal Geographical Society and the British Association for the Advancement of Science. These societies played a major role in directing scientific work, at a time when government involvement did not go far beyond naval mapping and some surveying for strategic materials during times of war.

The book outlines his tireless efforts through committees, patronage, political connections and publicity to expand and co-ordinate worldwide efforts in exploration and data collection. No continent was untouched by his efforts, and those of his friends and disciples in the field. As a testament to his influence, Australia alone contains five Mount Murchisons and two Murchison Rivers, while New Zealand has four mountains and a glacier named after him.

His efforts called for amazing stamina and organising ability, also the time that was made available by minimal domestic responsibilities and a supportive wife. He was not a radical but his support for free trade and its corollary, peace, put him at odds with the government in some military adventures, notably the Crimean War. He also encouraged the full participation and recognition of women in the scientific societies, generously acknowledging the efforts of Jane Franklin in Tasmania and other female pioneers.