| Admin History | Henry Hurd Swinnerton initially trained as a zoologist at the Royal College of Science in London but entered the service of University College Nottingham in 1902 as natural science demonstrator at the age of 27. He was appointed Professor of Geology in 1910 and headed up a newly combined Department of Geology and Geography. Separate departments of Geography and Geology were established in 1933-34 and, although he had passed the age of retirement, he continued as head of the department during the Second World War. In addition, he undertook the work of chairman of the Joint Recruiting Board and for these services was awarded the CBE.
Professor Swinnerton retired from the Chair of Geography in 1946 and was appointed part-time curator of the University Museum from that date until April 1956. He left Nottingham in 1960 to live in London. In 1961 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science by The University of Nottingham, the first member of staff to receive such a distinction. He developed an interest in archaeology, particularly of the Lincolnshire coast. His particular strengths lay in palaeontology and in contributions to the study of geomorphology. Emeritus Professor Henry Hurd Swinnerton, DSc, CBE died on 6th November 1966 at the age of 91.
Obituary notices can be found in the University of Nottingham Gazette (No.57, p 1236, January 1967), The Mercian Geologist (Vol. 2, No 1, University of Nottingham 1967), and The East Midlands Geographer (Vol. 4, Pt 3, June 1967, p 202). |
| Custodial History | The bulk of the collection was acquired by The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts in December 1962. |