Alcock, F. J. (Frederick James), 1888-1972

Frederick James Alcock was born on November 16, 1888, in Griersville, Ontario.

He was a Canadian geologist and author. He studied geology and mineralogy at the University of Toronto (B.A., 1912) and Yale University (Ph.D., 1915). He spent the following year at the University of Wisconsin, where he concentrated on Precambrian geology. Alcock worked with the Geological Survey of Canada (1911-1947), and, in 1947, he was appointed Chief Curator of the National Museum of Canada, the position he held until his retirement in 1956. He worked north of Lake Athabasca on the Precambrian Shield in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan and spent nine years studying this region. He developed a keen interest in history, geography, and allied fields related to the regions he traversed. From his notes, he drew up many papers, reports, memoirs, and maps of the geology. In 1921, Alcock was sent to the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec and later to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and the Magdalen Islands. In 1936, he published his memoir on Chaleur Bay (between Quebec and New Brunswick). Alcock wrote an excellent summary of the geology of the entire Appalachian Region in Canada in his chapter of “The Economic Geology and Minerals of Canada" (1947). In 1948, he forecast the discovery of graptolites in the Oak Bay area of New Brunswick, where they were found in 1962. He compiled the first general geological maps of the region, notably the “Geological Map of the Maritime Provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island” (1949). His publications included 38 geological maps and more than 150 reports and articles, mainly on geological subjects. He was elected a Fellow of The Geological Society of America in 1920 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1925. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a member of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Canadian Historical Association, and the Canadian Museum Association. In 1953, he was awarded the Coronation Medal of Queen Elizabeth II. In recognition of his valuable service to the nation, the Centennial Medal was conferred on him in 1967.

In 1927, he married Marion Ethel McBain Freeman (1899–1986). He died on March 18, 1972, in Ottawa, Ontario.