About Howardites

Our story

Howardites was started by collector Joseph Williams. It went online in 2015 with free meteorite identification help, a directory of reputable IMCA dealers, an HD photo gallery, the Howardites Emporium shop, meteorite auctions and a giveaway raffle. In 2026 it was rebuilt from the ground up as a live catalogue of every known meteorite, with an interactive map, news of new finds every few hours, and games for young explorers.

1. 1992 Moved to Japan, staying for thirteen and a half years.
2. 1995 Saw a first meteorite, in a museum and science park in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture, and wanted one.
3. 1996 First purchase, by fax from the American dealer and hunter Robert Haag: a 3,980 g Gibeon iron from Namibia, chosen over a 3.4 kg Sikhote-Alin. It is still in the collection.
4. 2009 Back in the UK, the collection grew to 114 meteorites, bought from hunters and dealers around the world.
5. 2015 Howardites.com launched.
6. 2026 Relaunched as the site you're reading now.

The name comes from howardites: meteorites from the asteroid Vesta, named after the British chemist Edward Howard, who in 1802 found nickel in both stony and iron meteorites: early evidence that they share an origin beyond Earth.