Robert Mallet

Robert Mallet FRS MRIA (3 June 1810 – 5 November 1881) was an Irish geophysicist, civil engineer, and inventor who distinguished himself by pioneering research concerning earthquakes, and is sometimes regarded as the father of seismology. For his major foundational work in seismology, he received the Telford Medal in 1859, the Cunningham Medal in 1862, the Wollaston Medal in 1877, and also became a member of the Royal Society in 1854.

Mallet began his career as an apprentice in his father's iron foundry company and grew the family business into one of the largest engineering firms in Ireland. He started researching in the study of earthquakes during his time at various academies, including the Royal Irish Academy in 1832, the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1835, and the Royal Geological Society of Ireland in 1838. His son, Frederick Richard Mallet, was also a geologist who worked in India.

He retired in the 1870s, after becoming blind for the last seven years of his life, and died near London in 1881. He was buried at West Norwood Cemetery.

Mallet was born in Dublin, on 3 June 1810, the son of factory owner John Mallet. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, entering it at the age of 16 and graduating in science and mathematics in 1830 at the age of 20.

After his graduation, he joined his father's iron foundry business and helped build the business into one of the most important engineering works in Ireland, supplying ironwork for railway companies, the Fastnet Rock lighthouse, and a swing bridge over the River Shannon at Athlone. He also helped manufacture the characteristic iron railings that surround Trinity College and which bear his family name at the base.

Mallet was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in 1832 at the early age of 22. He also enrolled in the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1835 which helped finance much of his research of seismology.

In 1838 he became a life member of the Royal Geological Society of Ireland, and acted as its president from 1846–48. From 1848 to 1849 he managed the construction of the Fastnet Rock lighthouse, southwest of Cape Clear.^{[citation needed]}

On 9 February 1846 he presented to the Royal Irish Academy his paper, "On the Dynamics of Earthquakes", which is considered to be one of the origins of modern seismology. He is also credited with inventing the word "seismology" and some related words, e.g. the isoseismal map, which he used for his research. He also invented the term epicentre.