Gerald Troost

Gerald Troost (1776-1850) was an American-Dutch medical doctor, naturalist, mineralogist, and founding member and first president of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

He studied at the School of Mines in Paris, France with renown mineralogist Abbe Hauy. He is credited with describing new species, such as the Western Cottonmouth ("Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma") and is honored by having a subspecies of turtle named after him, the Cumberland Turtle ("Trachemys scripta troostii"). In 1825 he joined the New Harmony experiment, in New Harmony, Indiana, with Thomas Say. In 1827 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he became a professor of mineralogy and chemistry at the University of Nashville. From 1831 until 1850 he served as the State Geologist of Tennessee. While there he sent animal specimens to John Edwards Holbrook. His most enduring contribution to science was his method of doing geological surveys, which was carried on by David Dale Owen, son of Robert Owen, who went on to do several surveys of the American northwest.

The reddish-colored crystals of a variety "willemite" found in New Jersey are known as "troostite". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_International_Encyclopedia]

References

* [http://ebeltz.net/herps/biogappx.html Biographies of People Honored in the Herpetological Nomenclature North America]
* [http://faculty.evansville.edu/ck6/bstud/troost.html New Harmony Scientists, Educators, Writers & Artists: Gerard Troost]