James G. Sawkins
James Gay Sawkins (1806–July 20, 1878) was an artist, geologist, copper miner, and illustrator. He was a member of the Geological Society of London who joined and led research during England's West Indian Geological Surveys of the islands of Trinidad and Jamaica. He also worked in the mining industries of Jamaica, Peru, Hawaii, and Australia.
James Gay Sawkins | |
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19th century photograph of Sawkins | |
| Born | 1806 Southampton, England |
| Died | 20 July 1878 (aged 71–72) London, England |
| Occupation | Geologist
Artist Copper miner Illustrator |
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Circa 1849, Sawkins testified against Navy general Joseph Warren Revere in a Naval Court of Inquiry due to Revere's possible affair with his wife, Octavia "Rosa" Sawkins.
Afterwards, from 1859 to 1862, he worked under English naturalist Lucas Barrett on the Jamaican Geological Survey, which was part of England's geology research of the West Indies. After Barrett's untimely death in 1862, Sawkins took over as the leader of the research team.
In 1950, geologist H. R. Hose claimed Sawkin's 1869 Reports on the Geology of Jamaica "form the basis of all subsequent work in Jamaica." For example, in 2021, Sawkins's 1869 research was used by wildlife ecologist Dr. Susan Koenig to persuade NEPA to protect the Jamaican Cockpit Country from bauxite mining.
In 2011, Nicholas Mirzoeff stated that "Sawkins's careful anthropological style...concentrated on observation rather than moral commentary." The Honolulu Museum of Art, Mission House Museum (Honolulu, Hawaii) and the National Library of Australia (Canberra) are among the public collections holding works by James Gay Sawkins.