BUSTS OF GEOLOGISTS. 
5 
original observer, and thus determined his future career. In 
1825 he contributed his first paper to the Geological Society, 
of which he was henceforth one of the most prominent members. 
Murchison’s great work, the work with which his name will 
always be identified, was that of determining the succession of 
a large series of the older rocks, which had previously received 
but little attention from geological observers. This task he 
commenced in 1831 by working on the rocks of Wales in con- 
junction with Professor Sedgwick, the two proceeding, however, 
from different base-lines. Sedgwick’s labours lay among the 
older disturbed rocks of Noith Wales, where he established his 
“ Cambrian System j” Murchison’s among the newer rocks of 
South Wales and the border counties, where he laid the founda- 
tion of his <( Silurian System.” The famous work bearing as its 
title The Silurian System was published in 1839. Soon after- 
wards Murchison’s attention was turned to the geology of 
Russia, and in 1840 he visited a part of the empire in company 
with the French geologist, M. de Yerneuil. The following year 
he returned and made a more extended survey, aided by Count 
Keyserling, and encouraged by the Emperor Nicholas, but it was 
not until 1845 that he published his fine work, the Geology of 
Russia and the Ural Mountains . Some years later he brought 
out, under the title of Siluria, a large volume giving a general 
description of the older rocks, or a summary of palaeozoic 
geology. 
At an early period of Murchison’s geological career he had 
shown, in conjunction with Sedgwick, that the slaty rocks of 
Devonshire are approximately of the same geological age as the 
red sandstones of Herefordshire, and thus established the 
“ Devonian System.” The formation of the “ Permian System ” 
was suggested at a later date by his travels through the old 
kingdom of Perm, in Russia, where he found a large develop- 
ment of rocks of this geological age. In 1846 Mr. Murchison 
received the honour of knighthood, and on Sir H. De la Beche’s 
death, in 1855. he was appointed Director of this Museum and 
of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. He was one 
of the original founders of the British Association, and presided 
over its meeting at Southampton in 1846. Geographical science 
shared his attention with geology, and from 1844 to the time of 
his death he was almost perpetual President of the Royal 
Geographical Society. Through his influence a chair of Geology 
and Mineralogy was established in the University of Edinburgh 
in 1871, and towards the endowment of this chair he contributed 
6,000£. The “ Murchison Professorship,” as he wished it to be 
called, was held for many years by his biographer, Sir Archibald 
Geikie, the present Director-General of the Geological Survey. 
Sir Roderick died on October 22, 1871. 
Murchison’s marble bust is mounted on a column of red 
granite from Mull (No. 196) and is placed on the western side 
of the steps, leading from the vestibule to the Hall. 
