Kitson, Albert Ernest - Bright Sparcs Biographical entry

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Kitson, Albert Ernest (1868 - 1937)

CBE, CMG, KBE, FGS

Published Sources

Geologist

Born: 21 March 1868 Manchester, Lancashire, England. Died: 8 March 1937 Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England.

(Sir) Albert Ernest Kitson joined the Victorian Public Service (VPS) as a clerk in 1886. From 1899 to 1904, although still employed as a clerk, he carried out geological field work for the VPS. This work inspired him to take up part-time studies in geology, mining and surveying at the Working Men’s College (Melbourne) and at the University of Melbourne. In 1904 Kitson was promoted to senior field geologist and headed many more geological surveys and published widely. His two most noted surveys were in the Gold Coast where areas of manganese and diamonds were discovered, and in Nigeria where rich coal deposits were found. In 1930 he retired from the VPS and returned to England. There he immediately took up the position of geological advisor to the Colonial Office and later joined the boards of several mining companies. Kitson was a Fellow and Lyell medal recipient of the Geological Society of London and he was knighted (KBE) in 1927.

Career Highlights

Chronology
c. 1878 Migrated to Australia (Victoria) with family
1886 - 1889 Clerk at the Victorian Postmaster-General's Department
1889 - 1896 Clerk at the Victorian Department of Lands and Survey
1896 - 1904 Clerk at the Victorian Department of Mines and Water Supply
1897 - Fellow of the Geological Society of London (FGS)
1899 - 1904 Geological field work including the survey of Buchan Caves in East Gippsland (1900), Victoria
1904 - 1930 Senior Field Geologist in the Department of Mines and Water Supply
1906 - 1911 Principal Surveyor on the Mineral Survey of Southern Nigeria
1913 Director of the Gold Coast Geological Survey
1918 Wollaston fund award received from the Geological Society of London
1918 Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
1922 Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)
1927 Lyell Medal received from the Geological Society of London
1927 Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)
1929 President of the C (Geology) Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
1930 Retired and returned to England
1930 Geological Advisor to the Colonial Office in England
1934 - 1936 President of the Geologist's Association

Structure based on ISAAR(CPF) - click here for an explanation of the fields.

Prepared by: McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993
Modified: 1 August 2006

Published by The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre on ASAPWeb, 1994 - 2007
Originally published 1994-1999 by Australian Science Archives Project, 1999-2006 by the Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre
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Prepared by: Acknowledgements
Updated: 26 February 2007
http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P001076b.htm

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