Edward A. Irving
Edward A. "Ted" Irving, CM FRSC FRS (27 May 1927 – 25 February 2014) was a geologist and scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada. His studies of paleomagnetism provided the first physical evidence of the theory of continental drift. His efforts contributed to our understanding of how mountain ranges, climate, and life have changed over the past millions of years.
Education
Irving was born and raised in Colne in the Pennine Hills of east Lancashire, England. In 1945, he was conscripted into the British Army. Irving served in the Middle East infantry. In 1948, he began studying geology at the University of Cambridge and obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1951. He spent the next year at Cambridge as a research assistant with Keith Runcorn in the geology and geophysics department before entering the graduate program.
When Irving started his graduate studies, the history of the Earth's magnetic field was known for the few centuries since the first magnetic observatories had been established. With fellow students Ken Creer and Jan Hospers, he looked to extend this record back in time. Irving used a magnetometer, recently designed by Patrick Blackett, to analyze the magnetic directions imparted to rocks by their iron minerals. He found large discrepancies between the directions of the present magnetic field direction and those recorded in Precambrian rock in the highlands of Scotland. He surmised the only explanation could be that Scotland had shifted relative to the geomagnetic pole. Irving also determined that India had moved northward by 6000 km and rotated by more than 30°. These results confirmed the predictions Alfred Wegener had put forth in his theory of continental drift in 1912.
