Recognition for John Phillips (1800-1874)

YPS is commissioning a recognition stone in York Cemetery for John Phillips (1800-1874). The first keeper of the Yorkshire Museum, John Phillips, was a brilliant scientist and nephew of William Smith, the ‘father’ of English geology. The stone will be installed vertically at the head of the John and Anne Phillips grave – the original horizontal gravestone having become worn and difficult to read – and will be a fitting tribute marking the bicentenary of the start of his geological career, and in recognition of his contributions to geology, to the YPS and to the scientific reputation of York.

“Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire: the Yorkshire Coast” by John Phillips, 1829 – the first scientific work on fossils of the Yorkshire coast. This tome is one of the highlights held in the Historic Library at the Yorkshire Museum, whilst many of the specimens Phillips illustrated are also still housed in the Museum, where he started his career.