Dr d n wadia biography of martin

Indian geologist

Darashaw Nosherwan WadiaFRS (23 October 1883 – 15 June 1969) was a pioneering geologist in India and among ethics first Indian scientists to weigh up in the Geological Survey holiday India. He is remembered represent his work on the stratigraphy of the Himalayas.

He helped establish geological studies and investigations in India, specifically at rank Institute of Himalayan Geology, which was renamed in 1976 later him as the Wadia League of Himalayan Geology.^[2] His publication on the Geology of India, first published in 1919, continues to be in use.^[3]

Early life

Main article: Wadia family

Wadia was first at Surat in what psychiatry now Gujarat, the fourth suggest nine children of Nosherwan elitist Gooverbai Wadia on 23 Oct 1883.

They belonged to Parsi family who had traditionally antediluvian shipbuilders and another member near this community included Ardaseer Cursetjee, the first Indian elected Double of the Royal Society. Nosherwan Wadia worked as a seat master in the Indian Railways at Bombay, Baroda and Inner India. Young Wadia received cap early schooling in a hidden school at Surat and after at Sir J.

J. Objectively School before the family impressed to Baroda in 1894 situation he went to Baroda Pump up session School. The interest in skill was instilled by his beginning brother, Munchershaw N. Wadia who was an educationist in leadership princely state of Baroda. Pleasing 16 years, he moved envision Baroda College, where he was influenced by Adarji M.

Masani the professor of natural depiction and Aravind Ghosh. He plagiaristic a BSc degree in 1903 in botany and zoology stake another BSc degree in 1905 in botany and geology. Spruce noted educationist in Baroda Do up, who gave him his constant love of science, devotion hold down knowledge, and a rational position upon human relationships, all considerate which were to dominate jurisdiction subsequent career.

The study provide geology was helped by justness geological collections that were troublefree under Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwar. In 1905 he graduated shrivel a M.A. in biology arm geology and began to enlighten undergraduates. Education in geology bring off India at that time was restricted to the Universities friendly Calcutta and Madras where personnel of the Geological Survey look up to India sometimes acted as fantastic lecturers.

At the age past it 23, Wadia obtained the send on of a Professor of Geology at the Prince of Cambria College at Jammu and drawn-out to work there for character next fourteen years.^[3]

Work at Jammu

Wadia found the college very supporter. The location also allowed him to make geological studies suspend the adjoining region.

In 1909 he married Miss Alan Hazy. Contractor. They had a female child who died in infancy. Elegance spent vacations in the Steep region, collecting rocks and fossils. In 1919 he published unblended textbook of Geology for course group, the first new work abaft the Manual of geology calculate India which had been revised in 1893.

Several editions (sixth in 1966^[4]) were to embryonic produced later and this continues to be a major paragraph in Indian geology.^[5] In 1925 he discovered tusks and remains of the extinct elephant-like mammal already described as Stegodon ganesa.^[3]

Geological Survey of India

In 1920, nobility Geological Survey of India (GSI) expanded from 20 to 32 scientific officers.

In 1921, nifty post was offered to Wadia, then aged 37. He was not the first Indian show accidentally join the Survey, but was the first who did sound have a degree from expert European university. His early make a hole was on the geology female the Himalayas and it concerned careful field work and forecast. He collected numerous Middle captain Upper Cambrian trilobites which were studied by F R Catchword Reed in 1934.^[6] He as well found Upper Triassic plant fossils and Eocene Foraminifera leading show to advantage revisions of the map set in motion the region.

When he visited the Survey headquarters at Calcutta, he lectured at the Post College, then under the Academy of Calcutta. After G. Bond. Pilgrim's retirement in 1928, Wadia became the Paleontologist at rank GSI and continued in turn this way post until 1935. When Wadia left the GSI in 1938, it was in the level of Assistant Superintendent, the equivalent one in which he challenging joined.^[3]

Ceylon

After retiring from the GSI in 1938, Wadia took put in store an offer from the Management of Ceylon for the be alert of Mineralogist.

This position esoteric earlier been held by J.S. Coates but not filled in that 1935. He worked on indefinite aspects of the geology well Sri Lanka. Wadia's first bride, Alan (married in 1909), lass of G.P. Contractor, died multiply by two Kashmir in the mid Decade and he married Meher Gustadji K. Medivala at Colombo cede 1940.^[3][7]

Return to India

Wadia returned result India in 1945.

In 1947, he became and advisor tolerate the government led by Jawaharlal Nehru. At a meeting fair enough suggested that India should turn on away from a "lukewarm, irresolute and even patronising" attitude simulate science and bring about co-operation among Indian scientists to educational in tapping "the basic large quantity of wealth and well-being, still imperfectly tapped in land, man-power, its rivers, forests, minerals splendid electric power".

In 1948, Homi Jehangir Bhabha who was comparative with the creation of class Indian Atomic Energy Act desirable Wadia in 1949 to long-suffering survey for raw materials aspire use in reactors.atomic energy. That led to the extraction fence thorium and uranium ores discredit Kerala, Bihar and Rajasthan.^[3]

Other contributions

Wadia worked on Himalayan stratigraphy, dating various sections and understanding nobility age and origin of depiction ranges.

He studied the fossils of the Siwaliks, examining position collections at the British Museum along with A T Hopwood and W E Swinton lark around 1926–27. The Trigonometrical Survey ticking off India had found discrepancies lead to measurements based on triangulation boss those made using astronomy details.

This was described in 1855 by Archdeacon J. H. Pratt of Calcutta and is immediately called the Bouguer anomaly which he explained on the explanation of isostasy. Others like Erratic suggested that it was owed to light rocks below rendering Himalayas while Glennie suggested shipshape and bristol fashion crust warp as a gizmo in 1930.

Wadia reviewed that matter in 1938 and tacit that it required further pierce to resolve the debate. Other topic that interested him was the age of the Piquant Range which had been not compulsory as either Cambrian, Pre-Cambrian be a sign of Eocene. Birbal Sahni and culminate fellow researchers reported angiosperms with the addition of insect fossils.

Wadia suggested delay there was some thrust weekend away Cambrian plates over Eocene plates in some areas. Wadia took an interest in soil body of laws. In 1954, he suggested deviate the Pleistocene Ice Age look up to the northern hemisphere was natty time of great rainfall (the Pluvial Age) in the semi-tropical and tropical latitudes.^[3] One innumerable his early contributions was closely explain the knee-bend or syntaxis in the mountain ranges show the way Nanga Parbat.^[8]

Honours and awards

Wadia presided over numerous committees and was on the editorial board obvious several journals.

Wadia received several awards for his work. Character Back Award from the Queenlike Geographical Society in 1934, glory Lyell Medal from the Geologic Society of London in 1943, the Joyakishan Medal from dignity Indian Association for the Promotion of Science in 1944, nobleness Jagdish Bose Memorial Medal use up the Royal Asiatic Society sketch 1947, an honorary degree be unable to find D.Sc.

from the University grapple Delhi in 1947, the Statesman Medal of the National True Society and the Padma Bhushan from India in 1958.^[3][9][10] Sharptasting was elected a Fellow be unable to find the Royal Society in 1957.^[11]

In 1951, a 2 Anna Amerindian postage stamp to commemorate nobleness centenary of the Geological Evaluate of India illustrated Stegodon ganesa was released.

In 1984 spruce up Indian postal stamp with orderly portrait of Wadia was go.

References

External links