John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geologist and geophysicist (d. 1993)
John Tuzo Wilson (October 24, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was a Canadian geophysicist and geologist who achieved worldwide acclaim for his contributions to the theory of plate tectonics.
Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that the rigid outer layers of the Earth (crust and part of the upper mantle), the lithosphere, is broken up into around 13 pieces or "plates" that move independently over the weaker asthenosphere. Wilson maintained that the Hawaiian Islands were created as a tectonic plate (extending across much of the Pacific Ocean) shifted to the northwest over a fixed hotspot, spawning a long series of volcanoes. He also conceived of the transform fault, a major plate boundary where two plates move past each other horizontally (e.g., the San Andreas Fault).
His name was given to two young Canadian submarine volcanoes called the Tuzo Wilson Seamounts. The Wilson cycle of seabed expansion and contraction (associated with the Supercontinent cycle) bears his name.
1908Oct, 24
John Tuzo Wilson
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Events on 1908
- 30Jan
Jan C. Smuts
Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is released from prison by Jan C. Smuts after being tried and sentenced to two months in jail earlier in the month. - 17Sep
Orville Wright
The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes, killing Selfridge, who becomes the first airplane fatality. - 27Sep
Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
The first production of the Ford Model T automobile was built at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan. - 1Oct
Ford Model T
Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a price of US$825. - 14Oct
Detroit Tigers
The Chicago Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0, clinching the World Series; this would be their last until clinching the 2016 World Series.