Early life Born in
Anstey,
Leicestershire, Skertchly was the son of an English engineer, Joseph Skertchly, and Sarah Moseley, née Barber. He was educated at
King Edward's School,
Ashby-de-la-Zouch where he won the Queen's gold medal for science. He studied geology at the
Royal School of Mines (later
Imperial College, London) under Sir
Ralph Tate and
Thomas H. Huxley.
Career He then worked as assistant curator to the
Geological Society, London, with Sir
Charles Lyell. In 1869 he began to travel, becoming assistant geologist to
Ismail Pasha,
khedive of
Egypt. He worked in East Anglia for the
British Geological Survey, studying and making maps of the geologically young strata there, as well as writing on the
gun-flint industry which exploited the local flints. He described and named the Brandon Beds which lie under the
Boulder clay. Skertchly sent
Charles Darwin a copy of his
Geology of the Fenland in 1878. Darwin replied with a gift of his
Origin of Species. He also corresponded with Darwin's rival and co-discoverer of natural selection,
Alfred Russel Wallace. He travelled to
California,
Borneo, and
China, studying and writing on geology and wider scientific subjects. He pioneered the first ever series of science textbooks written by scientists rather than school teachers, and a system for showing relief on maps. He became professor of Botany in
Hong Kong. When
war broke out in 1891 between China and Japan, he moved to
Brisbane, Australia. He gave many lectures on geology there, and wrote on science and
natural history for the
Brisbane Courier. and Professor Skertchly died on 2 February 1926 in
Molendinar, Queensland. Both are buried in Nerang cemetery. ==Works==