Arthur Holmes (January 14, 1890 – September 20, 1965) was a British geologist. Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A geologist is a contributor to the Science of Geology, studying the physical structure and processes of the Earth and planets of the solar system As a child he lived in Low Fell, Gateshead. ^[1]

He performed the first uranium-lead radiometric dating specifically designed to measure the age of a rock during his undergraduate studies. Uranium (jʊˈreɪniəm is a silvery-gray Metallic Chemical element in the Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly Radiometric dating (often called radioactive dating) is a technique used to date materials usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring In some Educational systems undergraduate education is Post-secondary education up to the level of a Bachelor's degree. His result was 370 mya for a Devonian rock from Norway. In Astronomy, Geology, and Paleontology, mya or " mya " is an abbreviation for "million years ago". The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era spanning from to  million years ago. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional He graduated in 1910, and the result was published 1911,^[2] after he had already travelled to Mozambique for six months to prospect for minerals. Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific He contracted blackwater fever and malaria so severe that an obituary was telegraphed back to Britain. Blackwater fever is a complication of Malaria characterized by intravascular Haemolysis, haemoglobinuria and Kidney failure. Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including An obituary is an attempt to give an account of the texture and significance of the life of someone who has recently died The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located However, he immediately left for home and recovered, and, because of this managed to avoid military service during World War I. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

He joined the staff at Imperial College, where he pursued doctoral studies, obtaining a PhD in 1917. Imperial College London (officially The Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine as given in its Royal Charter It is one of only three universities to have reached "PhD" redirects here for other uses see PhD (disambiguation.

He then took a job with an oil company in Burma, but the company went bankrupt and he had to return to England penniless in 1924. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their Creditors Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland To make matters worse, his son had died of dysentery in Burma. Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is an infection of the digestive system that results in severe Diarrhea containing mucus and blood Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. He then became Professor of geology at the University of Durham, but moved on to the University of Edinburgh later in his career (1943), retiring in 1956. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Durham University is a University in Durham, England. It was founded as the University of Durham (which remains its official and legal name The University of Edinburgh (Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann founded in 1582 is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

He greatly furthered the newly created discipline of geochronology and published the world renowned book The Age of the Earth in 1913 in which he estimated the Earth's age to be 1. In the Natural sciences under the umbrella of Natural history, Geochronology is the Science of determining the absolute age of rocks, Fossils EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 6 billion years.

He championed the theory of continental drift, even when he was in a small minority. Continental drift is the movement of the Earth 's Continents relative to each other He proposed that Earth's mantle contained convection cells that dissipated radioactive heat and moved the crust at the surface. His second famous book Principles of Physical Geology was published in 1944, which concludes with a chapter about continental drift. His later measurements of the age of the Earth (4,500 +/- 100 Ma) were based on measurements of the relative abundance of uranium isotopes by Alfred O. C. Nier. Uranium (jʊˈreɪniəm is a silvery-gray Metallic Chemical element in the Isotopes (Greek isos = "equal" tópos = "site place" are any of the different types of atoms ( Nuclides Alfred Otto Carl Nier ( May 28, 1911 - May 16, 1994) was an American Physicist who pioneered the development of Mass

He won the Wollaston Medal in 1956 and the Penrose Medal in the same year. The Penrose Medal was created in 1927 by RAF Penrose Jr as the top prize awarded by the Geological Society of America to those who advance the study of Geoscience The Arthur Holmes Medal of the European Geosciences Union is named after him. The European Geosciences Union (or EGU) is an interdisciplinary learned non-profit association open to individuals who are professionally engaged in or associated

A crater on Mars was named in his honour. In the broadest sense the term impact crater can be applied to any depression natural or manmade resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with larger body

The Durham University Department of Earth Sciences' Arthur Holmes Isotope Geology Laboratory is named after him, as is the students' Geology society. Durham University is a University in Durham, England. It was founded as the University of Durham (which remains its official and legal name

Notes

1. ^ Commemorative Plaques in Gateshead Borough.
2. ^ Holmes, Arthur "The association of lead with uranium in rock-minerals and its application to the measurement of geologic time," Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series A, vol. 85, pages 248-256 (9 June 1911)

References and external links

• Lewis, Cherry (2000) The Dating Game: One Man's Search for the Age of the Earth, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-89312-7
• Geological Society of America: short biography
• Another short biography
• Arthur Holmes Geological Society