Geoffrey C. P. King (1943 – 2026)
With great sadness that we are sharing the news that Geoffrey C. P. King, who worked at the Institut de physique du globe de Paris from 1995 until his retirement, died on 19 April in London. Geoffrey had moved to London a few years ago to be closer to his daughter Sophia Willitts-King and her family.
Publication date: 30/04/2026
Research
Geoffrey C P King has been a driving force in active tectonics throughout his career. In parallel to his modeling work, he has always valued very much the direct observation in the field, where he joined numerous expeditions. His contributions are extremely diverse and have impacted the research in active tectonics substantially. He will be remembered in particular for his seminal work on earthquake interactions through stress transfer, and his theory that active tectonics shaped landscapes that facilitated human evolution.
Geoffrey CP King started his career at the Bullard Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, UK, where he was designing and constructing geophysical instruments. In 1987, he moved to the US and hold positions at the USGS and the university of Colorado, Boulder. In 1990, he moved to France, first at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg and then, from 1995, at IPGP, until his retirement in 2015. He is well known for demonstrating that aftershocks are triggered at location of increased Coulomb stress, and for advancing the understanding and modeling of how active tectonics impact landscape evolution.
Geoffrey C P king was an exceptional scientist, and a superb mentor. He will be missed by his colleagues deeply.
