GEOLOGY FOR THE COMMON GOOD: HENRY DE LA BECHE AND GEOLOGICAL LITERACY
As England’s first professional geologist unassociated with a university, De la Beche successfully bridged the elite group of geologists and the working men who practiced the discipline. He used his position to promote geological education for all the people. De la Beche emerged as an early advocate for the working class, and wielded his influence to lobby for miners’ safety issues, and government-funded public education that would benefit everyone. The Museum of Practical Geology, the School of Mines, and the Mining Records Office were established largely through his efforts.
In uniting the science of geology with its practice, De la Beche did not discriminate in his educational goals between the elite geologists and working-class men. Contrary to the customs of the time, he advocated that lectures be open for both the miners as well as the prosperous mine owners. De la Beche lobbied for increased miner safety, including government inspection of collieries and the investigation of ventilation at each mining site. He further proposed that mining records be kept in a central repository to protect miners and inform mining decisions. De la Beche’s educational influence also extended beyond the mining industry: In establishing a Museum of Practical Geology, he used mineral collections to instruct visitors about the geology of Great Britain. Specimens were assembled, arranged, and labeled to be “effectively instructive” to all who viewed them. As an early proponent of geological literacy for all the people, De la Beche emerges as a geologist whose philosophy was that science should serve the common good.