BECHE, Sir Henry Thomas de la, letters, autographs, documents, manuscripts


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BECHE, Sir Henry Thomas de la (1796-1855). Geologist.
Autograph Letter Signed to [William] Hutton, 1 page 8vo, Geological Survey Office, 20 March 1846. Thanking him for his efforts 'in an honest good cause that can bear the light, however powerful. It may not be amiss to refer to our annual doings for 1846-7 sent to the Treasury today, to be printed with the estimates... '

De la Beche had been elected President of the Royal Geological Society in 1847. He had become an exceptional administrator during his career, and from the mid-1840s he became dedicated almost entirely to official work. Many of the men complained that he relied too much on bureaucratic regulations, so that the 'red tape worm' infected everything that went on in the survey.

William Hutton (1797-1860) was made a fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1828. By 1845 Hutton had taken on the post of treasurer of the Natural History Society and the extra work may have contributed to a subsequent breakdown in his health.
[No: 26376]

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