Bowen, Norman Levi (1887–1956)

Canadian geologist whose work helped found modern petrology (the study of rocks). He demonstrated the principles governing the formation of magma by partial melting, and the fractional crystallization of magma.

Born in Kingston, Ontario, Bowen was educated at the local Queen's University, then moved to the recently founded Geophysical Laboratory in Washington, DC, USA. His findings on the experimental melting and crystallization behaviour of silicates and similar mineral substances were published from 1912 onwards. In The Evolution of Igneous Rocks 1928 he dealt particularly with magma, becoming known as the head of the ‘magmatist school’ of Canadian geology.