Janet Watson

Janet Vida Watson FRS FGS (1923–1985) was a British geologist. She was a professor of Geology at Imperial College, London. A fellow of the Royal Society, she is well known for her contribution to the understanding of the Lewisian complex and as an author and co-author of several books. In 1982 she was elected President of the Geological Society of London, the first women to occupy that position.

She was born 1 September 1923 in Hampstead, London. Her father; David M. S. Watson FRS was a vertebrate palaeontologist and a professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at the University of London. Her mother; Katharine M. Parker, did research in embryology prior to marriage. Janet Watson grew up alongside her sister, Katharine Mary in South Hampstead and attended the local school. She then went on to attend Reading University to learn about General Science. Watson graduated with a first class honours degree in biology and geology in 1943. Watson married John Sutton in 1949 and had a professional partnership throughout their lives. They had two daughters who both had died at birth. Watson died on 29 March 1985, at the age of 61.

After her graduation in 1943, Watson began working at the National Institute for Research in Dairying. She observed chicken growth and their diets. She became bored with her job and went on to teach biology at Wentworth School, Bournemouth before deciding to become a geologist by the end of World War II. She applied to Imperial College in 1945, completing her BSc in Geology in 1947, again getting a first class degree. After her second graduation, the then head of department, Herbert Harold Read, took her on as his student and set her to work on the migmatites of Sutherland. She then began to work on the Lewisian complex of northwestern Scotland together with John Sutton, another of Read's research students. The two completed their PhD theses in 1949 followed by a wedding and honeymoon in the Channel Islands, which explains a joint publication on the geology of Sark a few years later.

After the award of their PhDs, they both joined the staff at Imperial College. They published their thesis work in a paper in 1951, that had a major impact on the study of Precambrian basement complexes, by showing that it was possible to understand their metamorphic and structural development as a series of discrete orogenic events that could be discerned in the field. They proposed that an older Archaean Scourian complex, had been partially reworked by a younger Paleoproterozoic Laxfordian orogenic event, as shown by its effect on a set of dolerite dykes, known as the Scourie dykes. Subsequent fieldwork, metamorphic studies and radiometric dating has refined their chronology but supported their original hypothesis.

They continued to work together on other aspects of the Precambrian geology of Scotland, including the Moine, Dalradian and Torridonian. John Sutton became head of department at Imperial College in 1964 and from then on their joint publications became less frequent. Watson published an introductory textbook Beginning geology with her former PhD supervisor H.H. Read in 1966, followed by Introduction to Geology: Volume 1 Principles in 1968 and Introduction to geology Volume2 Earth history: Part 1 Early Stages of Earth History and Part 2 Later Stages of Earth History in 1975.

In 1975, Watson was appointed to a personal chair as research professor of geology. She continued to work on the problems of the precambrian in Scotland but also published on ore genesis and regional geochemistry. She served as president of the Geological Society from 1982 to 1984, the first woman to hold that post.

• Lyell Fund – awarded jointly with John Sutton 1954
• Bigsby Medal – awarded jointly with John Sutton 1965
• Lyell Medal – awarded 1973
• Clough Medal – awarded 1979
• Royal Society – elected as fellow 1979, member of the council and vice-president until her death

Janet Watson was a major contributor to the advancement of Earth Science. In May 2009, the lecture theatre at the Geological Society was named after her as an appreciation for her major influence in the geology community. As of 2016, the Geological Society holds an annual Janet Watson meeting event. The conference puts an emphasis on giving the opportunity to young geologists starting their careers to present and discuss their research. Watson is also very well remembered for her ability to ask fundamental questions about many areas in her field. One of her many students, Rick Sibson, appreciated her for always pushing them to create their own way of thinking.