RAMSAY, Sir Andrew Crombie (1814-1891)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0098 KGA RAMSAY
Held at	: Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/recordsandarchives ›
Full title	: RAMSAY, Sir Andrew Crombie (1814-1891)
Date(s)	: Created 1812-1933
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 18 boxes
Name of creator(s)	: Ramsay | Sir | Andrew Crombie | 1814-1891 | Knight | geologist

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born Glasgow, 1814, son of William Ramsay, a manufacturing chemist; clerk in a cotton-grower's office, 1827; published book on the Isle of Arran, 1841; appointed Assistant Geologist on the Geological Survey, 1841; appointed Local Director, 1845; Professor of Geology, University College London, 1848-1851; Fellow of the Royal Society, 1849; Professor of Geology, Royal School of Mines, 1851-1876; President of the Geological Society, 1867-1864; Director for England and Wales, Geological Survey; Wollaston medal of the Geological Survey, 1871; Royal medal of the Royal Society, 1871; knighted, 1881; died, 1891.
Publications: include: The Geology of the Island of Arran, from original survey. Illustrated by engravings (Glasgow, 1841); Passages in the history of Geology: an inaugural lecture at University College, London (London, 1848); A descriptive catalogue of the Rock Specimens in the Museum of Practical Geology with Henry W Bristow, Archibald Geikie and Hilary Bauerman (London, 1858); The geological structure of Merionethshire and Caernarvonshire reprinted, with additions, from "The Geologist" (London, 1858); The Geology of North Wales ... With map and sections (1866).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay, 1812-1933, comprising notebooks and diaries, 1841-1882, recording both professional and personal details, including geological observations and drawings from field work in Britain, the Rhine, Canada, Switzerland, North Africa, France; sketches of landscapes, details of personal and official expenses, principally for travelling and accommodation; verses; inserted copies of correspondence; notices of deaths;
rough notes for lectures at the Royal School of Mines, Royal Institution, [1850-1880]; miscellaneous notes and printed papers, 1840-1889, principally relating to his book on Arran, 1841; appointment to University College London, 1847-1849; articles by Ramsay in the 'Saturday Review', 1858-1873; Bedfordshire palaeontology; examination papers, 1858-1875, for various institutions including the Geological Survey and Royal School of Mines, London University and University College, Cambridge University; sketch books and drawings of scenery, geological sections, portraits, [1840-1880]; miscellaneous printed papers, 1836-1892, notably papers relating to the Metropolitan Red Lion Association, 1836-1854; obituary notices for Ramsay, 1892;
family correspondence, 1812-1933, comprising letters of family members, including Ramsay's parents, wife, and daughters; correspondence with Sir Henry de la Beche, 1841-1854; general correspondence, 1833-1895, comprising letters from various correspondents, including Charles Robert Darwin, 1846-1864, Edward Forbes, 1844-1854, the Geological Survey, 1844-1876, Thomas Henry Huxley, 1854-1855, Joseph Beete Jukes, 1846-1867, Charles Kingsley, 1864, Sir Charles Lyell, 1841-1872, Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1848-1869, John Phillips, 1842-1867, Lyon Playfair, 1837-1854, Adam Sedgwick, [1865], Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn, 1846-1881, James Sharpe, 1840-1851, Sir Warrington Wilkinson Smyth, [1840-1890], Joshua Trimmer, [1840-1857], Anna Maria Williams, 1842-1852.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English and French.

System of arrangement:

The records are arranged in sections as outlined in the scope and content.

Conditions governing access:

Researchers wishing to consult the Archives should first contact the College Archivist, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, for an appointment.

Conditions governing reproduction:

A photocopying service is available at the discretion of the Archivist. Photocopies are supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.

Finding aids:

A catalogue is available in the reading room of the College Archives.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Given to Imperial College in 1934 by the daughters of Sir Ramsay. They were transferred from the Department of Geology to the College Archives in 1970.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Records of the Department of Geology (KG), including notes on Professor Ramsay's lectures nos I - XXXIII (KG/8), held at Imperial College.

Correspondence and papers, held at the British Geological Survey Library (reference: IGS3, GSM1/420); correspondence, 1841-1891, held at the National Library of Wales, Department of Manuscripts and Records (reference: NLW MSS 7780-93, 9634-42, 11574-93); correspondence, 1843-1879, held at Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections (reference: Gen 524, 1426, 1999); letters to William Aveline, 1845-1883, held at the British Geological Survey Library (reference: IGS1); letters to Sir Henry De la Beche, held at the National Museum of Wales; letters to George Gordon, 1866-1886, held at the Elgin Museum (reference: NRA(S)1989); correspondence with Sir Charles Lyell, 1846-1874, held at Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections (reference: Lyell 1); letters to Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1841-1867, held at the Geological Society of London (reference: M/R1); letters to Trenham Reeks, 1854-1879, held at the British Geological Survey Library (reference: IGS1).

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Memoir of Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay, etc by Sir Archibald Geikie KCB (Macmillan & Co, London, 1895)

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Sources: British Library On-Line Public Access Catalogue 97; National Register of Archives. Compiled by Julie Tancell as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.

Rules or conventions:
General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
October 2000