Table 1.

Famous geologists trained as physicians.

Name	Period	Country	Geologic contribution
1. James Hutton, MD	1726–1797	United Kingdom	Received his MD in 1749, wrote a thesis titled On the Circulation of the Blood. Practiced medicine briefly then took up farming in the Scottish Highlands, studying the geology of the region. Wrote The Theory of the Earth in 1795, laying down the basic principles of geology.
2. William Babington, MD	1756–1833	United Kingdom	Received his MD in 1795. Authored A New System of Mineralogy (1799). Was instrumental in founding of the Geological Society of London in 1807, served as its President (1822–24).
3. William Hyde Wollaston, MD	1766–1828	United Kingdom	Worked as a physician for a short time, devoting his time to research in mineralogy and chemistry. Invented a method to prepare pure Pt; discoverer of the elements Pd and Rh. Served as President of the Royal Society of London (1820). The Wollaston Medal, the highest award in geology is awarded annually by the Geological Society of London in his honor.
4. John Jeremiah Bigsby, MD	1792–1881	United Kingdom	Studied geology of the St. Lawrence valley to western edge of Lake Superior; published many papers. Established the Bigsby Medal at the London Geological Society for distinguished work in geology to someone not older than 45 years. Member of the American Geological Society (1810).
5. James Parkinson, MD	1755–1824	United Kingdom	Physician and paleontologist; wrote 3-volume book Organic remains of a former world. Founding member of the Geological Society of London. (Parkinson's disease is named after him, though he did not suffer from it).
6. Gerard Troost, MD	1776–1850	United States	State geologist of Tennessee (1831–47); professor of chemistry, geology, and mineralogy, University of Nashville; President, Academy of Natural Sciences.
7. Benjamin Silliman, Sr; MD	1779–1864	United States	Professor of chemistry and geology at Yale. Silliman Professorship at Yale named after him.
8. William Byrd Powell, MD	1799–1867	United States	State geologist of Arkansas. Professor of Medical Geology in Kentucky.
9. Robert Peter, MD	1805–1894	United States	Professor of chemistry at Kentucky Medical School. Wrote Relations of forms of disease to geological formations of region.
10. Henry King, MD	1805–1863?	United States	Carried out extensive geological work in Missouri; Geological member of the AAAS (1848–54).
11. Louis (J.L.R.) Agassiz, MD	1807–1873	United States	Founder of the Glacial Age theory; professor of Geology at Harvard.
12. Ferdinand Vandevere Hayden, MD	1829–1887	United States	Great explorer of the U.S. Geological Survey. Professor of geology and mineralogy, University of Pennsylvania.