Lewis C.L.E., Knell S.J. (eds.) The Age of the Earth: from 4004 BC to AD 2002

London: Published by The Geological Society. - 2001. - 296 p. This book is dedicated to the memory of John Christopher Thackray (1948-1999), archivist at the Natural History Museum (NHM) and Geological Society. It evolved from Celebrating tlie Age of the Earth, the Geological Society's William Smith Millennium Meeting, convened in June 2000 by Cherry Lewis on behalf of the History of Geology Group (HOGG), of which Simon Knell was then a committee member. John had been chairman of HOGG since its foundation in 1992 and without him this project would never have happened. The idea began with a meeting between John and Cherry, as she sought material for her forthcoming book on Arthur Holmes.Celebrating the age of the Earth
Before the hills in order stood: the beginning of the geology of time in England
European views on terrestrial chronology from Descartes to the mideighteenth century
Buffon, Desmarest and the ordering of geological events in epoques
Jean-Andre de Luc and nature's chronology
Timeless order: William Smith (1769-1839) and the search for raw materials 1800-1820
Genesis and geochronology: the case of John Philhps (1800-1874)
'Had Lord Kelvin a right?': John Perry, natural selection and the age of the Earth, 1894-1895
John Joly (1857-1933) and his determinations of the age of the Earth
Arthur Holmes' vision of a geological timescale
The age of the Earth in the United States (1891-1931): from the geological viewpoint
Is the Earth too old? The impact of geochronology on cosmology, 1929-1952
The oldest rocks on Earth: time constraints and geological controversies
The age of the Earth in the twentieth century: a problem (mostly) solved
Lead isotopes and the age of the Earth - a geochemical accident
Fossils as geological clocks
Time, life and the Earth
Dating the origin of modern humans
Understanding the beginning and the end