William Smith (1769 1839) was best known as the author of the Map of the Strata of England and Wales indeed, he was known as 'Strata' Smith. His Memoirs, edited by his nephew John Phillips and published in 1844, tell the story of his life from his beginnings as a blacksmith's son in Oxfordshire to his geological work. Smith began as an assistant to a land surveyor and moved into mine-related projects, including excavations for canal-building. During the course of one such project he realised the significance of strata within layers of rock, and in subsequent surveys he could locate deposits...