Sir Archibald Geikie O.M. K.C.B.

Geikie was invited to Oxford and gave an address on the influence which the geological features of Britain have had on the races that have settled in these Islands. The Geikie family moved to Harrow for their son’s schooling. The paper “The life and letters of Charles Darwin” appeared in “Contemorary Review”.

Another educational book was published in the same year entitled “The Teaching of geography, suggestions regarding principles and methods for the use of Teachers”. and was part of Macmillan's Geographical Series.

Inspection duties in the field covered many areas including England, Ireland and Scotland. He travelled to Florence and Rome, Italy. Geikie also visited Norway briefly in July for additional geological research. He was elected Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society and was awarded for the second time the Makdougall-Brisbane medal. Geikie received a number of diplomas of honorary memberships of foreign academies.

He brought together a collection of geological specimens to illustrate the fundamental principals of geology in the Butler Museum, at Harrow School. A special 86-page handbook with woodcuts was produced to accompany the collection, and was printed in June.

At the beginning of this year the Geological Society informed Geikie that the Presidency of that Society would be offered to him. The major paper, The history of volcanic action during the Teriary period in the British Isles made its appearence in “Transaction of the Royal Society Edinburgh”. Geikie became President of the Geological Society on the 21st of February.

He visited Western Ireland. He had several interviews with Sir William Thompson, later Lord Kelvin about the future Presidency of the Royal Society.

Knighthood awarded to Geikie by Queen Victoria on 30th July at Osborne, Isle of Wight. He travelled to Paris for the Centenary of the Institute de France. The revision of the geology of the South Wales Coalfield began.

A paper dealing with volcanoes appeared this year, “History of volcanic action in the British Isles” was published in the “Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London”.

The Anniversary of the Geological Society took place in February at Burlington House, London. A new mineral species geikielite is named after Sir Archibald Geikie. The family moved to Chester Terrace, Regent’s Park in October. Geikie’s wife and their daughters spent the winter in Paris, while he would stay at the Athenaeum Club in London.

On January 5th, the science journal Nature published an essay by the French geologist Albert Auguste de Lapparent, as a contribution to its series "Scientific Worthies". The subject was the scientific work of Archibald Geikie, it was an eulogistic account of his labours.

On the 29th June Geikie joined the Board of Governors of Harrow School. His son Roderick became Head of School this year. Geikie chaired the meeting of the British Association at Nottingham 15th September. The subject was contributions to discussion on "The limits between geology and physical geography". He published five papers this year on various aspects of geology.

He made a second visit to the USA and gave a course of six lectures to inaugurate the Williams Lecturship at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. This was the basis of his later book “The Founders of Geology” published in the summer. This book reveals his extensive knowedge of classical and modern literature.

He toured in southern Russia, Turkey, Greece and Italy. Attended the 7th International Geological Congress. Geikie’s monumental two-volume magnum opus “The ancient volcanoes of Great Britain” was published.