George Barrow

Who was George Barrow?

George Barrow was a British geologist.

Barrow matriculated at London University in 1871, holding a Turner scholarship. Admitted to King's College London, he studied science, winning prizes in mathematics and geology. He was the first to map a metamorphic gradient by determining a sequence of metamorphic zones in the Scottish Highlands. Every first appearance of an index mineral was taken by Barrow as the beginning of a new metamorphic zone. Later the underlying principles of metamorphic zones were clarified by the Finnish geologist Pentti Eskola, who introduced the concept of metamorphic facies. He was awarded the Bolitho Medal of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall in 1912.