Stretching Beyond Anthropocentric Thinking: Maria Graham and the 1822 Chilean Earthquake

Abstract

ABSTRACTMaria Graham published her observations from the 1822 Valparaíso earthquake in the Transactions of the Geological Society, the first woman to be published in that journal. Her work helped to shift notions of geologic time and process. Graham’s unique insights were perhaps a product of her engagement with Romantic era literature, like the works of Lord Byron. These insights were attacked by George Bellas Greenough, the President of the Geological Society. To show that her report was flawed, Greenough cited other sources: Juan Ignacio Molina, the Mercurio de Chile, and the Abeja Argentina. These texts show a range of observers grappling with complex phenomena. Graham’s article and Greenough’s evidence against her show that a crucial shift in geologic thinking in the period was imagining operations outside of a human frame; Graham’s success was her ability to think about earthquakes in a fashion that linked deep time together with incremental change.