THE GRAPHIC INNOVATIONS OF GEOLOGIST HENRY T. DE LA BECHE

In our historical investigation into the types of illustrations utilized during the Golden Age of Geology (1788-1840), Henry T. De la Beche emerged as an important geologist who made numerous innovative graphic contributions at the dawning of geology as a science.

For example, De la Beche promoted colliding theory graphics, or the accurate portrayal of the earth's sections and scenes that would remain valuable for future generations of geologists. He was also the first geologist to utilize the small multiple format effectively (Tufte, 2001).

De la Beche designed and drew scientific caricatures that encapsulated the theoretical debates of the day, as well as the social, cultural, and historical influences on the emerging theories of geology. These scientific caricatures have emerged as instructional graphics with significant classroom potential for teaching the nature of science.

Henry T. De la Beche additionally established the illustrative genre of ancient life reconstructions. Duria antiquior is acknowledged as the first published scene from deep time (Rudwick, 1992). This illustration became the first innovative classroom geology teaching graphic in William Buckland's geology classes at Oxford.

A gifted artist, De la Beche drew his own illustrations. His texts exhibit higher graphic density than most others in the Golden Age of Geology, and he was an early user of general diagrammatic representations. We argue that because of his introduction and development of several important genres of visual explanation, Henry T. De la Beche should be considered the Father of Visual Geology Education.