PORTLOCK, JOSEPH ELLISON (17941864)

This article appears in Volume V22, Page 122 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: POL-PRE

PORTLOCK, JOSEPH ELLISON (17941864) , British geologist and soldier, the only son of Nathaniel Portlock, captain in the Royal Navy, was born at

Gosport

GOSPORT

on the 3oth of September 1794. Educated at the Royal Military

Academy

ACADEMY, GREEK
ACADEMY, ROYAL

he entered the Royal Engineers in 1813. In 1814 he took part in the frontier operations in Canada. In 1824 he was selected by Colonel (afterwards Major-General) T. F. Colby (17841852) to take part in Ordnance Survey of Ireland. He was engaged for several years in the trigonometrical branch, and subsequently compiled information on the physical aspects, geology and economic products of Ireland. In 1837 he formed at Belfast a geological and statistical office, a museum for geological and zoological specimens, and a laboratory for the examination of soils. The

work

WORK

was then carried on by Portlock asthe geological branch of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, and the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

results were embodied in his Report on the Geology of the County of Londonderry and of parts of

Tyrone

TYRONE
TYRONE, EARLS OF

and Fermanagh (1843), an elaborate and well-illustrated volume in which he was assisted by

Thomas

Oldham. After serving in

Corfu

CORFU (anc. and mod. Gr. KEpKvpa or Kopiupa, Lat. Corcyra)

and at Portsmouth he was, in 1849, appointed Commanding Royal Engineer at

Cork

, and from 18511856 he was Inspector of Studies at the Royal Military

Academy

ACADEMY, GREEK
ACADEMY, ROYAL

, Woolwich. For a short time commanding officer at Dover, when the Council of Military Education was formed in 1857 he was selected as a member.
During these years of active service he contributed numerous geological papers to the scientific societies of Dublin and to the British Association. He published in 1848 a useful treatise on geology in Weale's " Rudimentary

Series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

" (3rd. ed., 1853). He was president of the geological section of the British Association at Belfast (1852), and of the Geological Society of London (18561858). He wrote a Memoir of the

late

LATE

Major-General Colby, with a Sketch of the Origin and Progress of the Trigonometrical Survey (reprinted in 1869 from Papers on Subjects connected with the Royal Engineers, vols. iii.v.). He also contributed several articles on military subjects to the 8th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1837. He died in. Dublin on the 14th of February '864.

End of Article: PORTLOCK, JOSEPH ELLISON (17941864)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/POL_PRE/PORTLOCK_JOSEPH_ELLISON_179418.html">
PORTLOCK, JOSEPH ELLISON (17941864)
</a>

(Previous)
PORTLANDIAN

(Next)
PORTMANTEAU

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email