People

Here you can find out more about some of the people who made important discoveries in minerals and mining:

• Sir Humphrey Davy, inventor of the miners safety lamp
• James Hutton, one of the first men to introduce the idea of geological time
• William Murdoch, the inventor of gas lighting
• Thomas Newcomen, one of the first to harness the power of steam engines
• William Smith, who made the first geological map of England in 1815
• Richard Trevithick, steam engine pioneer
• James Watt, steam engine pioneer

You can also discover who the 'Bevin Boys' were.

More information on William Smith and geology can be found at the British Geological Survey website.

For information on finding out about people who worked in the minerals industries go to our Finding Mining Folk pages.