March 16th Joseph Henry Collins (Birth)

St. Austell resident Joseph Henry Collins FGS (1841 – 1916) was a renowned geologist, mineralogist and mining engineer, mineralogist and geologist.
Educated at The Working Mens’ College and Birkbeck College in London, Collins was at various times, President or secretary of all three of the learned societies of Cornwall: The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society and The Royal Institution of Cornwall.  He was also the founding Secretary of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1876).

Collins pioneered systematic and informed exploration for china clay in the St. Austell area and spent some years as chief metallurgist for Rio Tinto mines.  He wrote a number of well-respected textbooks and manuals, which became standard works in the field.  The most notable are ‘A Handbook to the Mineralogy of Cornwall and Devon’ (1871), ‘Principals of Metal Mining’ (1874) and ‘Mineralogy’ (1877).

Married to Eliza Denny for 53 years, Collins had five sons and four daughters including William, Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe (1904 – 1911). Collins died at his home near St. Austell and is buried in Campdowns Cemetery.  In 2008, the Mineralogical Society established ‘The Collins Medal’ for lifetime contribution to mineral science.
 




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