John Tuzo Wilson

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John Tuzo Wilson, CC , OBE , D.Sc , FRSC (October 24, 1908–April 15, 1993) was a Scottish Canadian geophysicist and geologist who achieved worldwide acclaim for his contributions to the theory of plate tectonics, the idea that the rigid outer layers of the Earth (crust and part of the upper mantle), the lithosphere, are broken up into numerous pieces or "plates" that move independently over the weaker asthenosphere. As part of his theory, he maintained that the Hawaiian Islands were created as a tectonic plate, extending across much of the Pacific Ocean, shifted slowly in a northwesterly direction over a fixed hotspot, spawning a long series of volcanoes. He also came up with the idea of the transform fault, a major plate boundary where two plates move past each other horizontally (e.g., the San Andreas Fault).

Wilson was born to Scottish emigrants to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. He became the first person in Canada to take a university course in geophysics, beginning his studies at the University of Toronto in 1930. He obtained various other related degrees from Saint John's College at Cambridge University and Princeton University. His academic years culminated in his obtaining a doctorate in geology in 1936. After completing his studies, Wilson enlisted in the Canadian Army and served in World War II. He retired from the armed forces with the rank of colonel.

In 1969, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1974. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Royal Society of London. He was the Principal of Erindale College at the University of Toronto and was the host of the television series, The Planet of Man.

The John Tuzo Wilson Medal of the Canadian Geophysical Union was named in his honor, recognizing achievements by scientists of geophysics.

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