Henry De la Beche (1796-1855) entered the scientific realm within an elite group of gentleman geologists. As a firm advocate of observation, De la Beche’s philosophy of science involved the collection of facts, from which satisfactory theories or solutions to geological problems could only arise after accumulated observations were compiled (1825,1827). De la Beche authored many texts, but insisted that he recorded only facts and did not support any particular theory, which often relied on scant observation (1830).

De la Beche’s role within elite society changed when his finances began to flounder. However, De la Beche’s persistence at procuring government support for his mapping projects resulted in his eventual appointment (1835) as director of Britain’s Ordnance Geological Survey, the forerunner to the British Geological Survey. As a government scientist, De la Beche maintained a staunch advocacy of observation. He used his position to promote field work, and ensured quality in the deliberate recording of accurate information. De la Beche provided clear instructions to local survey directors, and advocated a “general mode of observing and recording facts” for “systematic investigations and uniformity of results” (1845). His methods guaranteed that facts, and not selective interpretations, would be available for those who needed them.

De la Beche insisted that utilitarian geological products, such as survey maps and mining records, were consistent and of high quality. He promoted the importance of these products—and the field work that produced them—within the elite societies of which he remained a member. Through his government position, De la Beche successfully advocated for public displays of facts and collections, and largely through his efforts the Museum of Practical Geology, the School of Mines, and the Mining Record Office were established.

Therefore, De la Beche’s emphasis of observation over theory had far-reaching impact in the emerging Victorian professionalization of science. Although he lost personal funding and could not sustain an elite participation in the emerging geological discipline, his government position provided a powerful platform from which he was able to teach, systematize, and institutionalize field-based geological observation. De la Beche’s success is measured through the establishment of fact repositories in Great Britain, and also through the impact that surveyors who studied his field methods brought to other countries.

This presentation is based on work co-authored by James Wandersee.