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John Edward Marr was born on the 14th June 1857, in a house on Morecambe Terrace, Poulton-le-Sands, a small hamlet now part of Morecambe. The house where he was born is now known as Fylde Court. The family also had another home at Caernarvon in North Wales.
He was the youngest of nine children, the third son of John and Mary Marr. His father was reported to have Scottish ancestry belonging to the clan MacDonald.
John Edward was educated at Lancaster Grammar School, which had a high scientific tradition, and which had also taught William Whewell, master of Trinity College and President of the Geological Society, also Sir Richard Owen.
He entered St John's College Cambridge as an exhibitioner in 1875, but this was later turned into a foundation scholarship. He obtained a first class in Natural Sciences in 1878 and was elected a fellow of his college in 1881.
His first paper on the older rocks of the Lake District was published in 1878. This was to be a forerunner of a series of outstanding contributions that were published at frequent intervals during his life.
Immediately after taking his degree Marr made comparative studies of the Lower Palaeozoic rocks in Bohemia and Scandinavia. In Nature magazine in the 18th November 1933 issue, it describes how his investigations into the so-called ‘colonies' of Barrande, and the resulting work produced was a most important contribution to science. “Although carried out at such an early age, he proved conclusively that Barrande's view of a specific fauna could recur at different geological levels was based upon a misconception of the geological structure, and that the apparent repetitions were due to later earth-movement. The far-reaching consequences of this piece of work cannot be over-estimated, for until Barrande's idea of recurring ‘colonies' was finally disposed of, the zonal division of strata, homotaxial relationships, and the evolutional progression of faunas could have no sure foundation or proper significance.”
His interest in the stratigraphy of the Lake District took him to practically every part of the region, exploring the rocks of the Lake District and North Wales. On the 1881 Census he is shown staying in Penrith, with his brother Francis, and his occupation is given as Geologist B.A. Camb Sc & Persuit.
He published papers on Skiddaw Slates, Borrowdale Volcanic Series, Coniston Limestone, Dufton Shales, Coniston Grits and many more. In another series of papers he discussed the origin of the lakes and tarns of Lakeland, showing how most of them were due to damming by glacial drift rather than true rock basins.
Marr took his place as one of the foremost British geologists of the time, but it was as a teacher that he was fondly remembered. With the then Woodwardian Professor T McKenny Hughes and others, he was largely instrumental in making Cambridge the foremost school of geology in Britain. He succeeded to the Woodwardian Chair in 1917.
As well as his work at Cambridge, he was active in geological activities elsewhere. He served on the Council of the Geological Society for almost forty years, acting as secretary for ten years, and he was President from 1904 to 1906. He received from the Society three medals in recognition of his services to geology, receiving the societies highest award the Woolaston Medal in 1914. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1891, he was awarded a Royal Medal by the Society in 1930.
When he died at Cambridge on the 1st October 1933 it was suggested that some permanent memorial should be erected in Morecambe, to commemorate the life and achievement of Professor John Edward Marr, and to honour such a distinguished local man. On Saturday 23rd June 1934 the invited guests accompanied by the Mayor proceeded from the Town Hall to unveil the memorial tablet, which was placed in a wall on the promenade, in front of the house where he was born. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Royal Society, Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, and other distinguished guests wearing their academic robes. The tablet was unveiled by Professor Marr's only surviving sister, Mrs Walker Jones of Kendal. The ceremony was followed by a luncheon at the Town Hall.
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