Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum

Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum No. 49

Charles Taylor Trechmann (1884–1964) was an independently wealthy researcher on the fossil faunas of north-east England and the Antilles. He formulated his theory of mountain uplift in response to the idea of a basal complex beneath the Antilles, proposed by Charles Alfred Matley (1866–1947). Trechmann’s ideas on tectonics were promulgated mainly in a series of four monographs that he published privately. In 1953 Trechmann gave a talk on mountain uplift to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, but was refused publication in their journal ‘Advancement of Science’. Trechmann implied that the rejection of this short note led to him writing the last and longest of his monographs. This explanation was likely disingenuous. Trechmann had difficulties in publishing his tectonic theory in recognised research journals. Most likely, he wanted to publish in ‘Advancement of Science’ to reach a wider audience for the mountain uplift theory. His last and longest monograph was probably always planned as a ‘last hurrah’ as a publishing scientist; Trechmann published little subsequently.