Thomas Griffith Taylor

Taylor, Thomas Griffith

Thomas Griffith Taylor, geographer, educator, explorer (b at Walthamstow, Eng 1 Dec 1880; d at Sydney, Australia 4 Nov 1963). A dynamic personality who did research on every continent, Taylor founded the first Canadian department of geography at U of T (1935). He was educated as a geologist at U of Sydney, Australia, and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was chosen chief geologist for the 1910-12 Scott Antarctic Expedition and did the first mapping of that continent. A glacier and a dry valley are named for him. Taylor also founded the first department of geography in Australia in 1920 at U of Sydney, then moved to U of Chicago's dept of geography (1927). It was on the initiative of economist Harold INNIS that Taylor was invited to U of T in 1935. He remained there until 1951 during which time the department achieved an international reputation. An outstanding teacher, Taylor was the author of some 20 books and 200 scientific articles.