Geologist. An 1859 graduate of the Royal School of Mines in Freiburg, Germany, he began his career directing the development of Arizona silver mines and working as a consulting geologist to the government of Japan. During 1864 and 1865 he was the first person to conduct a thorough survey of the Gobi Desert. Other scientific explorations he undertook during his career were done in China, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia and countless other locations around the world. From 1866 to 1875 he served as the first Professor of Mining at Harvard. He later worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, heading up the New England office from 1884 to 1889. His many contributions to the field of geological knowledge include a number of books and articles, the discovery and excavation of the village of Anau in Turkmenistan which he dated to around 4500 B.C., his secular rock disintegration theory and his studies of iron ore. He was honored by having a mineral named after him, Pumpellyite, which can only be found in Keweenaw County, Michigan.
Geologist. An 1859 graduate of the Royal School of Mines in Freiburg, Germany, he began his career directing the development of Arizona silver mines and working as a consulting geologist to the government of Japan. During 1864 and 1865 he was the first person to conduct a thorough survey of the Gobi Desert. Other scientific explorations he undertook during his career were done in China, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia and countless other locations around the world. From 1866 to 1875 he served as the first Professor of Mining at Harvard. He later worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, heading up the New England office from 1884 to 1889. His many contributions to the field of geological knowledge include a number of books and articles, the discovery and excavation of the village of Anau in Turkmenistan which he dated to around 4500 B.C., his secular rock disintegration theory and his studies of iron ore. He was honored by having a mineral named after him, Pumpellyite, which can only be found in Keweenaw County, Michigan.
Bio by: Jen Snoots
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