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John Murray (oceanographer)

Sir John Murray KCB FRS FRSE FRSGS (3 March 1841 – 16 March 1914) was a pioneering Canadian-born British oceanographer, marine biologist and limnologist. He is considered to be the father of modern oceanography.[2][3]

Sir John Murray
KCB FRS FRSE FRSGS
Sir John Murray in his later years, bearded and drawing or measuring with a compass.
Murray in c. 1899-1902
Born(1841-03-03)3 March 1841
Cobourg, Canada West
Died16 March 1914(1914-03-16) (aged 73)
Kirkliston, Midlothian, Scotland
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Spouse
Isabel Henderson
​
(m. 1889)​
Children3 daughters, 2 sons[1]
AwardsMakdougall-Brisbane Prize (1884–86)
Neill Prize (1877–80)
Cullum Geographical Medal (1899)
Clarke Medal (1900)
Vega Medal (1912)
Scientific career
FieldsOceanography
Limnology
InstitutionsChallenger Expedition Commission (1872)
Director of the Challenger Expedition Commission (1882)
Established marine laboratories at Granton and Millport
Author abbrev. (botany)J.Murray
Signature
Notes
President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (1898–1904)
President of the Scottish Natural History Society
Member of the Scottish Meteorological Society
Sir John Murray's grave, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

Early life and education

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Murray was born at Cobourg, Canada West (now Ontario) on 3 March 1841. He was the second son of Robert Murray, an accountant, and his wife Elizabeth Macfarlane. His parents had emigrated from Britain to Ontario in about 1834. He went to school in London, Ontario and later to Cobourg College. In 1858, at the age of 17 he moved to Stirling to live with his grandfather, John Macfarlane, and continue his education at Stirling High School. In 1864 he enrolled at University of Edinburgh to study medicine however he did not complete his studies and did not graduate.[4]

In 1868 he joined the whaling ship, Jan Mayen, as ship's surgeon and visited Spitsbergen and Jan Mayen Island. During the seven-month trip, he collected marine specimens and recorded ocean currents, ice movements and the weather.

On his return to Edinburgh he re-entered the University to complete his studies (1868–72) in geology under Sir Archibald Geikie.

Challenger Expedition

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In 1872 Murray assisted in preparing scientific apparatus for the Challenger Expedition under the direction of the expedition's chief scientist, Charles Wyville Thomson. When a position on the expedition became available Murray joined the crew as a naturalist. During the four-year voyage, he assisted in the research of the oceans including collecting marine samples, making and noting observations, and making improvements to marine instrumentation. After the expedition, Murray was appointed Chief Assistant at the Challenger offices in Edinburgh where he managed and organised the collection. After Thomson's death in 1882, Murray became Director of the office and in 1896 published The Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of HMS Challenger, a work of more than 50 volumes of reports.[4]

Murray renamed his house, on Boswall Road in northern Edinburgh, Challenger Lodge in recognition of the expedition.[5] The building now houses St Columba's Hospice.

Marine Laboratory, Granton

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In 1884,[6] Murray set up the Marine Laboratory at Granton, Edinburgh, the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. In 1894, this laboratory was moved to Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, on the Firth of Clyde, and became the University Marine Biological Station, Millport, the forerunner of today's Scottish Association for Marine Science at Dunstaffnage, near Oban, Argyll and Bute.[citation needed]

Bathymetrical survey of the fresh-water lochs of Scotland

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After completing the Challenger Expedition reports, Murray began work surveying the freshwater lochs of Scotland. He was assisted by Frederick Pullar and over a period of three years, they surveyed 15 lochs together. In 1901 Pullar drowned as a result of an ice-skating accident which caused Murray to consider abandoning the survey work. However, Pullar's father, Laurence Pullar, persuaded him to continue and gave £10,000 towards the completion of the survey. Murray coordinated a team of nearly 50 people who took more than 60,000 individual depth soundings and recorded other physical characteristics of the 562 lochs. The resulting 6 volume Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland was published in 1910. [7] [8] The cartographer John George Bartholomew, who strove to advance geographical and scientific understanding through his cartographic work, drafted and published all the maps of the Survey.

North Atlantic oceanographic expedition

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In 1909 Murray indicated to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea that an oceanographic survey of the North Atlantic should be undertaken. After Murray agreed to pay all expenses, the Norwegian Government lent him the research ship Michael Sars and its scientific crew. He was joined on board by the Norwegian marine biologist Johan Hjort and the ship departed Plymouth in April 1910 for a four-month expedition to take physical and biological observations at all depths between Europe and North America. Murray and Hjort published their findings in The Depths of the Ocean in 1912 and it became a classic for marine naturalists and oceanographers.[9][10]

He was the first to note the existence of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and of oceanic trenches. He also noted the presence of deposits derived from the Saharan desert in deep ocean sediments and published many papers on his findings.[citation needed]

Awards, recognition and legacy

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The Cirrothauma murrayi octopus, named after Murray

Other awards included the Cuvier Prize and Medal from the Institut de France and the Humboldt Medal of the Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin.[17]

He was president of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society from 1898 to 1904.

In 1911, Murray founded the Alexander Agassiz Medal which is awarded by the National Academy of Sciences, in memory of his friend Alexander Agassiz (1835–1910).

After his death his estate funded the John Murray Travelling Studentship Fund[4][18] and the 1933 John Murray ''Mabahiss'' Expedition to the Indian Ocean.[4][19]

Death

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Murray lived at Challenger Lodge (renamed after his expedition) on Boswall Road in Trinity, Edinburgh, with commanding views over the Firth of Forth.[20] This house is now the St Columba's Hospice, a palliative care facility.[21]

Murray was killed when his car overturned 10 miles (16 km) west of his home on 16 March 1914 at Kirkliston near Edinburgh. He is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh on the central path of the north section in the original cemetery.[citation needed]

Tribute

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The John Murray Laboratories at the University of Edinburgh,[3] the John Murray Society at the University of Newcastle and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency research vessel, the S.V. Sir John Murray,[22] and the Murray Glacier are named after him.

Taxa named in his honor

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Animals named in his honor include the entire Murrayonida order of sea sponges.

Botanical references

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The standard author abbreviation J.Murray is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Agassiz, G. R. (1917). "Sir John Murray (1841–1914)". Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 52 (13): 853–859. JSTOR 20025726.
  2. ^ a b Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Shearer, A (July 2006). Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002: Biographical Index (PDF). Vol. II. Edinburgh: The Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b "The John Murray Laboratories". ed.ac.uk/. The University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e Ashworth, J.H. (2004). "Murray, Sir John (1841–1914)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35165. Retrieved 29 December 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1905–06
  6. ^ Overview of Dunstaffnage ik Marine Laboratory
  7. ^ Murray, Murray,John; Pullar, Laurence (1910). Bathymetrical survey of the Scottish fresh-water lochs. Edinburgh: Challenger Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link). Volume 1; Volume 2; Volume 3; Volume 4; Volume 5; Volume 6.
  8. ^ "Biographies: Bathymetrical survey of the fresh-water lochs of Scotland". nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  9. ^ Murray, John; Hjort, Johan (1912). The depths of the ocean; a general account of the modern science of oceanography based largely on the scientific researches of the Norwegian steamer Michael Sars in the North Atlantic. London: Macmillan.
  10. ^ "Sir John Murray | Scottish Canadian oceanographer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  11. ^ "List of Fellows of the Royal Society 1660–2007" (PDF). royalsociety.org. The Royal Society. July 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Meetings of the Royal Geographical Society, Session 1898–99". The Geographical Journal. 14 (1): 102–109. 1899. JSTOR 1774739.
  13. ^ "John Murray". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  14. ^ RSGS memorial to recipients of Livingstone Medal
  15. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  16. ^ "John Murray". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Sir John Murray motor car accident". trove.nla.gov.au. National Library of Australia. 16 March 1914. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  18. ^ "John Murray Travelling Studentship Fund". opencharities.org. Open Charities. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  19. ^ "70 years on... The John Murray Mabahiss Expedition to the Indian Ocean 1933–34" (PDF). /www.challenger-society.org. The Challenger Society for Marine Science. 2004. Retrieved 1 January 2015.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory, 1911-12
  21. ^ "Edinburgh, Trinity, 15 Boswall Road, Challenger Lodge". Canmore. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Sir John Murray the man behind the name". sepaview.com/. Scottish Environmental Protection Agency. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.,
  23. ^ Young, Richard E.; Vecchione, Michael (2003). "Cirrothauma murrayi Chun, 1911". tolweb.org. Tree of Life web project. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  24. ^ Ho, Hsuan-Ching. 2022. "Taxonomy and Distribution of the Deep-Sea Batfish Genus Halieutopsis (Teleostei: Ogcocephalidae), with Descriptions of Five New Species" Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 10, no. 1: 34. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10010034
  25. ^ https://www.bemon.loven.gu.se/%7CBiographical[permanent dead link] Etymology of Marine Organism Names (BEMON)
  26. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Murray, J.", p. 185).
  27. ^ International Plant Names Index.  J.Murray.
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Preceded by Clarke Medal
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