William Branwhite Clarke

William Branwhite Clarke, FRS (2 June 1798 – 16 June 1878) was an English geologist and clergyman, active in Australia.

Clarke was born at East Bergholt, in Suffolk, the eldest child of William Clarke, schoolmaster, and his wife Sarah, née Branwhite. He received his early education at Dedham grammar school, and in 1817 entered Jesus College, Cambridge. In 1819 entered a poem for the Chancellor's Gold Medal; this was awarded to Macaulay, but Clarke's poem Pompeii, published in the same year, was judged second. He took his BA degree in 1821, and obtained his MA degree, in 1824. In 1821 he was appointed curate of Ramsholt in Suffolk, and he acted in his clerical capacity in other places until 1839. He was also master of the Free School of East Bergholt for about 18 months in 1830-1. Having become interested in geology through the teachings of Sedgwick, he used his opportunities and gathered many interesting facts on the geology of East Anglia which were embodied in a paper On the Geological Structure and Phenomena of Suffolk (Trans. Geol. Soc. 1837). He also communicated a series of papers on the geology of S.E. to the Magazine of Nat. Hist. (1837–1838). This text has some information that has been copied from this website http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/clarke-william-branwhite-3228

In 1839, after a severe illness, Clarke left England for New South Wales, mainly with the object of benefiting by the sea voyage. He had been commissioned by some of his English colleagues to ascertain the extent and character of the carboniferous formation in New South Wales (Clarke's letter to Sydney Morning Herald, 18 February 1852). He remained, however, in that country, and came to be regarded as the Father of Australian Geology.

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