| Activity | William Blanford's studies as a geologist in the South Asian subcontinent over the middle third of his life extended practically to the region's geographical entirety. His first well known publication, however, described an expedition to Abyssinia he joined in the late 1860s; it came out in 1870 as Observations on the Geology and Zoology of Abyssinia. After retiring from the Geological Survey of India he returned home to England, where he became involved in the Fauna of British India project as editor, and from time to time wrote on the regional biogeography of South Asia. Blanford's main taxonomic specialty was nonmarine molluscs, but he also contributed studies on birds, mammals, and plants, alive and fossil. Early in his career he recognized ancient evidence for glaciation in India, one of the first workers to find such in a non-northerly locale.
1855 he began working for the geological survey in India, surveying in various parts of South Asia until 1860. He was appointed deputy superintendant of the survey in 1862 and undertook a survey of the bombay presidency until 1866. From 1867 - 1868 he studied geology in Abyssinia. From 1871 - 1872 he worked as part of a comission to survey the India-Persia border before returning to England. In 1874 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in London before returning to India. From 1874 - 1877 he worked on the geology of the desert of the sind. In 1882 he retired from the geological survey in India and returned to England where he was awarded the Wollaston Medal by the Geological Society of London. In 1884 he chaired the geological section of the British Association for the Advancement meetings in Montreal. From 1888 - 1890 he was president of the Geological Society of London and served as editor to the 'Fauna of British India series until 1905. From 1895 - 1905 he was also treasure of the geological society and in 1904 he was made a companion of the Indian Empire. |