Joseph Henry Collins


Joseph Henry Collins FGS,, mining engineer, mineralogist and geologist. Of Cornish descent, he was born in London. He died at his home, Crinnis House, near St Austell, on 12 April 1916 and is buried in Campdowns cemetery, Charlestown.

Career

He was at various times the Secretary or President of the three learned societies of Cornwall – Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society and the Royal Institution of Cornwall. Contributed significantly to the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, and was awarded the Bolitho Medal by the RGSC in 1898. Collins was the founding Secretary of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland in 1876 and was involved in founding the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, becoming its Vice-President in 1892. He also lectured for, and was secretary of, The Miners Association.
Collins pioneered systematic exploration for china clay in the St Austell area, and had a long association with the area, as well as introducing both the filter press and the monitor to the china clay industry. From 1881–1884 he was the chief chemist and metallurgist for Rio Tinto mines in Spain but left due to ill health, possibly malaria. He died at his home in Crinnis, near St Austell, on 12 April 1916 and is buried in nearby Campdowns cemetery.

Personal life

Collins was educated at The Working Men's College and Birkbeck College in London. He married Frances Miriam Denny in 1863, and had five sons and four daughters. His sons included Arthur L. Collins, a mine manager murdered in America, and William Edward Collins, Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe. He died at his home in Crinnis, near St Austell, on 12 April 1916 and is buried in nearby Campdowns cemetery. A memorial was erected by the Mineralogical Society on 10 June 2005 at St Paul's Church, Charlestown.
In 2008, the Mineralogical Society established a new annual award, The Collins Medal, to recognise the lifetime contributions of scientists to pure or applied aspects of Mineral Sciences and associated studies. The Collins medal was first awarded in 2010, to Dr Henry Emeleus.

Selected publications