John Tuzo Wilson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 John Tuzo Wilson Medal of Geophysics |
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| Born | 24 October 1908 Ottawa, Ontario Canada  |
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| Died | 15 April 1993 Toronto, Ontario Canada |
| Residence | Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Field | Geophysics & Geology |
| Institution | University of Toronto |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto University of Cambridge Princeton University |
| Notable students | Harold Williams |
| Known for | Theory of Plate tectonics |
| Notable prizes | Officer, Order of Canada Companion, Order of Canada Fellow, Royal Society of Canada Fellow, Royal Society of London Fellow, Royal Society of Edinburgh Legion of Merit Order of the British Empire Ewing Medal, AGU Bucher Medal, AGU Penrose Medal, GSA Wegener Medal, EUG Wollaston Medal, Geological Society Vetlesen Prize, Columbia University Canada Centennial Medal 125th Anniversary Medal (Canada) |
John Tuzo Wilson, Ph.D , CC , OBE , D.Sc , FRS , FRSC , FRSE (October 24, 1908–April 15, 1993) was a Canadian geophysicist and geologist who achieved worldwide acclaim for his contributions to the theory of plate tectonics, the idea that the rigid outer layers of the Earth (crust and part of the upper mantle), the lithosphere, are broken up into numerous pieces or "plates" that move independently over the weaker asthenosphere. As part of his theory, he maintained that the Hawaiian Islands were created as a tectonic plate, extending across much of the Pacific Ocean, shifted slowly in a northwesterly direction over a fixed hotspot, spawning a long series of volcanoes. He also came up with the idea of the transform fault, a major plate boundary where two plates move past each other horizontally (e.g., the San Andreas Fault).
Wilson was born to Scottish emigrants to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. He became the first person in Canada to take a university course in geophysics, graduating from Trinity College at the University of Toronto in 1930. He obtained various other related degrees from Saint John's College at the University of Cambridge. His academic years culminated in his obtaining a doctorate in geology in 1936 from Princeton University. After completing his studies, Wilson enlisted in the Canadian Army and served in World War II. He retired from the armed forces with the rank of colonel.
In 1969, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1974. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Royal Society of London. He was the Principal of Erindale College at the University of Toronto and was the host of the television series, The Planet of Man.
The John Tuzo Wilson Medal of the Canadian Geophysical Union was named in his honor, recognizing achievements by scientists of geophysics.
[edit] External links
- Order of Canada Citation
- Royal Society citation
- Virtual Geoscience Center biography
- Royal Society of Edinburgh obituary
- GSA TODAY, September 2001 J. Tuzo Wilson
| Academic Offices | ||
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| Preceded by John S. Proctor |
Chancellor of York University 1983–1986 |
Succeeded by Larry Clarke |
Categories: 1908 births | 1993 deaths | Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge | Canadian geologists | Canadian Mining Hall of Fame | Canadian physicists | Geophysicists | Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada | Fellows of the Royal Society | Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh | Companions of the Order of Canada | Officers of the Order of the British Empire | Recipients of the Legion of Merit | Penrose Medal winners | People from Ottawa | University of Toronto alumni
