William Phillips

William Phillips may refer to:

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William Phillips (geologist)

William Phillips FGS FRS (10 May 1775 – 2 April 1828) was an English mineralogist and geologist.

Biography

Phillips was the son of James Phillips, printer and bookseller in London. He became interested in mineralogy and geology, and was one of the founders of the Geological Society of London (1807). His Outlines of Mineralogy and Geology (1815) and Elementary Introduction to the Knowledge of Mineralogy (1816) became standard textbooks. His digest of English geology, A selection of Facts from the Best Authorities, arranged so as to form an Outline of the Geology of England and Wales (1818), formed the foundation of the larger work undertaken by Phillips in conjunction with William Conybeare, of which only the first part was published, entitled Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales (1822). This book had a major influence on the development of geology in Britain. In this work Phillips reprinted his description of the chalk cliffs of Dover and other parts of East Kent. Phillips was a member of the Religious Society of Friends. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1827.

William Phillips (economist)

Alban William Housego "A. W." "Bill" Phillips, MBE (18 November 1914 – 4 March 1975) was an influential New Zealand economist who spent most of his academic career at the London School of Economics (LSE). His best-known contribution to economics is the Phillips curve, which he first described in 1958. He also designed and built the MONIAC hydraulic economics computer in 1949.

Early life

Phillips was born at Te Rehunga near Dannevirke, New Zealand, to Harold Housego Phillips, a dairy farmer, and his wife, Edith Webber, a schoolteacher and postmistress.

He left New Zealand before finishing school to work in Australia at a variety of jobs, including crocodile hunter and cinema manager. In 1937 Phillips headed to China, but had to escape to Russia when Japan invaded China. He travelled across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway and made his way to Britain in 1938, where he studied electrical engineering. At the outbreak of World War II, Phillips joined the Royal Air Force and was sent to Singapore. When Singapore fell, he escaped on the troopship Empire State, which came under attack before safely arriving in Java.