P Martin DuncanEnglish paleontologist Peter Martin Duncan was born in Twickenham on April 20, 1821. Prior to attending Nyon, near the Geneva Lake, he attended the grammar school in Twickenham. He began his career as a medical apprentice in London in 1840. He subseqently enrolled at King's College there and received his M.B. from the University of London in 1846. In 1848, Duncan opened a practice in Colchester, where he actively participated in local politics and was elected mayor in 1857. Duncan served as president of the geological section of the British Association at the conference in 1879 and was an active member of a number of scientific organisations, including the Geological, Zoological, and Linnean organisations. He published a number of works, including The Sea-shore, Heroes of Science, and the Primer of Physical Geography. His industry was unwavering. He edited Cassell's Natural History and made substantial contributions to it. He also authored various scientific works, such as "Revision of the Madreporaria" and "Revision of the Genera and Great Groups of the Echinoidea." Prior to Duncan's death on May 28, 1891, his health started to deteriorate around two years earlier. He was buried at the graveyard of Chiswick. Francis Duncan, who went on to become a naturalist and writer, was one of his children that survived him together with his wife Mary Jane Emily Liddel Whitmarsh. Read More Read Less