Herbert Smith (mineralogist)

Herbert Smith
CBE
Born(1872-05-26)26 May 1872
Edgbaston, England
Died20 April 1953(1953-04-20) (aged 80)
EducationWinchester College
Alma materNew College, Oxford
Known forGemstones (1912)
Scientific career
FieldsMineralogy, gemmology
InstitutionsBritish Museum (Natural History), London

George Frederick Herbert Smith CBE (26 May 1872 20 April 1953) was a British mineralogist who worked for the British Museum (Natural History). He discovered the mineral paratacamite in 1906, and developed a jeweller's refractometer for the rapid identification of gems. The minerals smithite and herbertsmithite are named after him, as is Herbert's rock-wallaby.