John Wesley Judd, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., died at his residence at Kew on March 3rd, 1916, aged 76 years. His health had been failing for some years, and he had gradually withdrawn from attendance at scientific gatherings in London and the provinces; but it was not till the outbreak of the present war that any serious change became apparent. The depression and anxiety produced by the war brought on acute neuritic pains, which greatly undermined his strength; and though he rallied somewhat after a visit to Walmer in the summer of 1915, he grew steadily weaker during the following autumn and winter, till he passed away in his sleep on the date mentioned.
Professor Judd was born at Portsmouth, and as a young man studied at the Royal School of Mines. Subsequently he served on the British Geological Survey and acted as one of the hon. secretaries of the Geological Society from 1878 to 1884. He was President of the Geological Society from 1886 to 1888, and was also a Fellow of the Royal Society. His official connection with the Royal College of Science and the Royal School of Mines extended for over thirty years, from 1876 to 1905, as professor of geology and later in the additional capacity of Dean of the College and School of Mines. His initiation and organization of the system of instruction in geology at the Royal School of Mines was a great achievement, unequalled in its day, and one, which, in the opinion of many, has never been surpassed.
In Professor Judd’s earlier scientific activities he was frequently associated with Darwin and Huxley, and nothing delighted him more than to indulge in reminiscences of the personalities and work of these great men. Petrology was the branch of geological study for which he showed especial preference; and his most important contribution to scientific theory was his conception of petrographical provinces, which forms the basis of the views of the British school of petrology. During the last ten years of his life he still made valuable contributions to geological literature, although the condition of his health made new investigations impossible. He published ‘The Coming of Evolution’ in 1910; a second edition, revised and enlarged, of ‘The Students’ Lyell’ in 1911, and his last published work was a preface to a paper on Rockall Island, which was read before the Geological Society in March, 1914.
Professor Judd was elected an Honorary Member of the Institution in 1902.
Vol. 25, Trans IMM 1915-16, p.400
