When England’s Ordnance Geological Survey was founded in 1835, Henry De la Beche (1796-1855) became England’s first government-employed professional geologist. Success of the new government-sponsored endeavor largely depended upon De la Beche’s efforts and skill. The maps and sections, produced with exceptional rapidity, were equal or superior to those produced by other countries.

As the Survey grew, De la Beche sought consistency in the mapping process and the products created. He issued explicit instructions to local survey directors, and encouraged a “general mode of observing and recording facts . . . by which systematic investigations and uniformity of results may be secured” (1845). This included rigorous field observation and fact collection. An early advocate of geological literacy, De la Beche instructed surveyors in the significance of their work, noting the parallel of the Survey with mining, the influence of geology upon agriculture, and its importance in construction. He was mindful of the population that the Survey ultimately served, and tried to ensure that “the public may obtain those results which it has a right to expect from this branch of public service.”

De la Beche instructed his directors in his proper procedures for surveying, the reasons the survey was performed, and its importance beyond geological considerations. This early geoliteracy influence was not only contained within Great Britain, however. Henry Darwin Rogers, the first American admitted to the Geological Society of London, joined De la Beche in Devon and was instructed in survey and fieldwork methods. Rogers returned to the US and brought De la Beche’s influence across the Atlantic Ocean.

Other geologists also learned survey work under De la Beche, and then dispersed around the world to radiate De la Beche’s influence: Thomas Oldham, Ireland’s local director in 1844, founded the Geological Survey of India. Andrew Ramsay served as Local Director of England and Wales. William Logan eventually founded the Geological Survey of Canada, while Alfred Selwyn was survey director in New South Wales, and later in Canada. De la Beche’s advocacy of survey consistency, systematic production, and benefit to the general population ultimately had far-reaching influences across the world.