Andrew Geddes Bain
Andre Geddes Bain (
1797-
1864), British geologist, was a native of
Scotland. In
1820 he emigrated to
Cape Colony, and carried on for some years the business of a saddler at Graaf Reinet. During the Kaffir War in
1833-
1834 he took command of a provisional battalion raised for the defence of the frontier. Later he was engaged to construct a military road through the Ecca Pass, and displayed engineering talents which led to his being permanently employed as surveyor of military roads under the corps of Royal Engineers. This occupation created an interest in
geology, which was fostered in
1837 by the loan of Lyells Elements. He discovered the remains of many reptilia, including the Dicynodon, which was obtained from the Karroo Beds near Fort Beaufort and described by Owen. Devoting all his spare energies to geological studies, Bain prepared in
1852 the first comprehensive geological map of
South Africa, a work of great merit, which was
published by the
Geological Society of London in
1856. He died at
Cape Town in
1864.