Books published by publisher Oxford Clarendon Press

Having been appointed Thomson Lecturer in the United Free Church College in Aberdeen during the Session1905-6, I was invited by Principal Iverach to deliver a course of lectures on earthquakes. This book is the outcome of these lectures, which probably are unique in having been the only systematic course ever delivered on the subject in this country. Since the days when I studied Geology under Sir Archibald Greikie, then Professor in Edinburgh University, I had always retained a strong interest in the many physical problems suggested by geological and geographical facts. Accordingly when, in 1883, I entered on my duties as Professor of Physics in the University of Tokyo, Japan, my interest in seismological questions naturally received a great impetus. With Professor John Milne as a colleague it was impossible for me to escape being to some extent fired by his enthusiasm. A glance through the succeeding pages will show how largely this eminent seismologist has influenced the thoughts which find expression. It was my good fortune to witness the conception and growth of many of his most fruitful ideas, to see how at every turn he appealed to experiment to elucidate a new problem in seismology, and to note the persistent ingenuity with which he followed up an almost invisible line of research.