﻿James 
  Geikie. 
  

  

  XXXV 
  

  

  The 
  views 
  advanced 
  by 
  James 
  Geikie 
  regarding 
  climatic 
  changes 
  in 
  

   Pleistocene 
  time 
  have 
  been 
  adopted 
  by 
  many 
  investigators 
  in 
  Europe 
  and 
  

   America. 
  Eeference 
  might 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  the 
  elaborate 
  investigations 
  of 
  Penck 
  

   and 
  Bruckner 
  indicating 
  four 
  glaciations 
  of 
  the 
  Alps, 
  separated 
  by 
  inter-glacial 
  

   periods. 
  His 
  classification 
  of 
  glacial 
  and 
  inter-glacial 
  periods 
  has 
  been 
  

   subjected 
  to 
  severe 
  criticism. 
  Great 
  diversity 
  of 
  opinion 
  still 
  exists 
  regarding 
  

   the 
  interpretation 
  of 
  many 
  glacial 
  phenomena, 
  the 
  correlation 
  of 
  deposits 
  in 
  

   widely 
  separated 
  regions, 
  and 
  the 
  sequence 
  of 
  conditions. 
  But 
  sufficient 
  

   palseontological 
  evidence 
  has 
  been 
  obtained 
  to 
  establish 
  the 
  general 
  principle 
  of 
  

   oscillations 
  of 
  climate 
  in 
  the 
  Glacial 
  Epoch, 
  though 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  inter-glacial 
  

   periods 
  may 
  remain 
  a 
  subject 
  of 
  keen 
  controversy. 
  

  

  In 
  1882, 
  on 
  the 
  promotion 
  of 
  his 
  brother, 
  Sir 
  Archibald 
  Geikie, 
  to 
  the 
  post 
  

   of 
  Director-General 
  of 
  the 
  Geological 
  Surveys 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  Kingdom, 
  he 
  was 
  

   appointed 
  to 
  the 
  Chair 
  of 
  Geology 
  and 
  Mineralogy 
  in 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  

   Edinburgh. 
  During 
  his 
  tenure 
  of 
  the 
  Professorship 
  he 
  succeeded 
  in 
  establish- 
  

   ing 
  a 
  lectureship 
  in 
  Petrology, 
  a 
  lectureship 
  in 
  Palaeontology, 
  and 
  a 
  museum 
  

   collection 
  for 
  teaching 
  purposes. 
  By 
  the 
  encouragement 
  of 
  research 
  in 
  his 
  

   laboratory 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  field, 
  he 
  sent 
  forth 
  students 
  who 
  have 
  made 
  important 
  

   contributions 
  to 
  geology 
  and 
  who 
  hold 
  prominent 
  positions 
  at 
  home 
  and 
  

   abroad. 
  As 
  an 
  administrator 
  within 
  the 
  University 
  he 
  was 
  equally 
  successful, 
  

   for 
  when 
  the 
  Science 
  Faculty 
  was 
  established 
  in 
  1894 
  he 
  was 
  appointed 
  the 
  

   first 
  Dean 
  — 
  a 
  position 
  which 
  he 
  held 
  for 
  nineteen 
  years. 
  

  

  In 
  1884 
  he 
  took 
  a 
  prominent 
  part 
  in 
  the 
  foundation 
  of 
  the 
  Boyal 
  

   Scottish 
  Geographical 
  Society, 
  which 
  has 
  achieved 
  remarkable 
  success. 
  He 
  

   was 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  vice-presidents, 
  and 
  he 
  held 
  this 
  office 
  till 
  his 
  death, 
  

   except 
  during 
  his 
  occupancy 
  of 
  the 
  presidential 
  chair, 
  from 
  1904 
  to 
  1910. 
  In 
  

   1888 
  he 
  became 
  honorary 
  editor 
  of 
  the 
  Society's 
  magazine, 
  and 
  contributed 
  

   articles 
  to 
  its 
  pages. 
  On 
  his 
  retirement 
  from 
  the 
  presidentship 
  he 
  was 
  

   presented 
  with 
  his 
  portrait, 
  in 
  recognition 
  of 
  his 
  devoted 
  service. 
  

  

  His 
  power 
  as 
  a 
  clear 
  expounder 
  is 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  other 
  volumes 
  

   in 
  addition 
  to 
  those 
  already 
  mentioned. 
  In 
  1898 
  he 
  issued 
  a 
  volume 
  on 
  

   'Earth 
  Sculpture, 
  or 
  the 
  Origin 
  of 
  Land 
  Forms'; 
  in 
  1913,. 
  a 
  work 
  on 
  

   'Mountains, 
  their 
  Origin, 
  Growth, 
  and 
  Decay'; 
  in 
  1898, 
  a 
  text-book 
  on 
  

   ' 
  Structural 
  and 
  Field 
  Geology,' 
  which 
  passed 
  through 
  three 
  editions. 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  honours 
  which 
  fell 
  to 
  him 
  in 
  recognition 
  of 
  his 
  scientific 
  

   researches, 
  the 
  following 
  may 
  be 
  mentioned 
  : 
  the 
  Fellowship 
  of 
  the 
  Eoyal 
  

   Society, 
  1875 
  ; 
  the 
  Presidentship 
  of 
  the 
  Eoyal 
  Society, 
  Edinburgh, 
  in 
  succes- 
  

   sion 
  to 
  Sir 
  William 
  Turner, 
  1913 
  ; 
  the 
  Mackdougall-Brisbane 
  Medal, 
  awarded 
  

   by 
  the 
  Eoyal 
  Society, 
  Edinburgh 
  ; 
  the 
  Murchison 
  Medal, 
  by 
  the 
  Geological 
  

   Society 
  ; 
  the 
  Gold 
  Medal, 
  by 
  the 
  Eoyal 
  Scottish 
  Geographical 
  Society. 
  

  

  J. 
  H. 
  

  

  