McGill Libraries
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Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Craggs, Thomas
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1838-after 1893
History
Thomas Craggs was a Victorian schoolmaster and microscopist from Gateshead, County Durham, England, who achieved notable recognition during the mid-1860s. Born in Sunderland, he initially pursued a career in education and joined the Tyneside Naturalists' Field Club in 1865. Around 1869, he transitioned into business as an iron and copper broker, largely withdrawing from his public involvement in microscopy.
Craggs was particularly renowned for his skill in preparing exceptionally thin microscope slides of fossil fish teeth. These specimens were discovered within coal from the Northumbrian coal measures near his home. He regularly supplied his geological and zoological finds to the distinguished paleontologist Richard Owen, who relied on Craggs’ preparations in the identification and description of several new species of extinct prehistoric fish. The professionally printed labels found on his slides suggest that he also marketed them to fellow educators, scientists, and collectors. Many of his original specimens and slide preparations are now preserved in the collections of the British Museum.