- Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin
Infobox Scientist
name = PAGENAME
box_width =
image_size =150px
caption = PAGENAME
birth_date =September 25 ,1843
birth_place =Mattoon, Illinois
death_date =November 15 ,1928
death_place = Chicago
residence =
citizenship =
nationality = American
ethnicity =
field =geology
work_institutions =
alma_mater =
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for =
author_abbrev_bot =
author_abbrev_zoo =
influences =
influenced =
prizes =
religion =
footnotes =Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (
September 25 ,1843 -November 15 ,1928 ) was an influential Americangeologist andeducator . In 1893 he founded the "Journal of Geology ", of which he was editor for many years.Biography
Chamberlin was born
September 25 ,1843 inMattoon, Illinois . When he was three years old his family moved north to nearBeloit, Wisconsin . His father was aMethodist circuit minister and farmer. He attended a preparatory academy before enteringBeloit College , where he received a classical education in Greek andLatin , while becoming interested in natural science. While a student at Beloit he directed a church choir and participated in athletics and debate.After graduation from
Beloit College in 1866, Chamberlin worked for two years as a teacher and later principal in a high school near Beloit. He was married to Alma Wilson in 1867.In 1868–1869, Chamberlin spent a year taking graduate courses, including geology, at the
University of Michigan to strengthen his scientific background. Subsequently (1869-1873) he became professor of natural science at the State Normal School inWhitewater, Wisconsin . He joined the Beloit faculty in 1873, where he was professor of geology,zoology , andbotany . In 1873 he also became one of several part-time participants in conducting a comprehensive geological survey ofWisconsin . Hisgeologic map ping work in southeastern Wisconsin, a region mantled with thickglacial deposit s, led him to recognize multiple episodes ofglaciation during thePleistocene . His terminology for glacial stages inNorth America is still in use, with minor modifications.In 1876 Chamberlin became chief geologist for the Wisconsin geological survey, supervising the completion of the survey and the publication of the four-volume report, for which he authored sections on glacial deposits,
Paleozoic andPrecambrian bedrock geology, lead-zinc ore deposits,artesian well s, andsoil s. The project brought him national attention and led to his appointment as head of the glacial division of theUS Geological Survey in 1881. He later was president of the University of Wisconsin (1887 - 1892).In 1892 he accepted the offer to organize a department of geology at the new
University of Chicago , where he remained as a professor until 1918). From 1898 to 1914 he was president of theChicago Academy of Sciences .He developed the
planetesimal theory, which states thatEarth was made from smaller objects that gradually built the planets by accretion. From this theory and other geological evidence he concluded that Earth was much older than assumed byLord Kelvin (ca 100 million years) at the time.Chamberlin remained active professionally up until his death in Chicago on
November 15 ,1928 .His papers are housed in the Beloit College archives, along with the papers of his son,
Rollin T. Chamberlin , who was also a geologist. [Beloit College Archives, cite web|url=http://www.beloit.edu/~archives/documents/archival_collections/alumni/thomas_chamberlin.php|title=Thomas C. Chamberlin] . There are buildings named for him on the Beloit College and University of Wisconsin-Madison campuses. The lunar crater Chamberlin and a crater on Mars are named in his honor.ee also
*
Strong inference Bibliography
His publications include:
* "Outline of a Course of Oral Instruction" (1872)
* "Geology of Wisconsin" (1877)
* Preliminary paper on the terminal moraine of the second glacial epoch (U.S. Geological Survey, 1882) * The rock scorings of the great ice invasions ((U.S. Geological Survey, 1886)
* The method of multiple working hypotheses. "Science". v. 15:92–96p. (1890)
* "Contribution to the Theory of Glacial Motion" (1904)
* With R. D. Salisbury, "Geology" (three volumes, 1907-09)
* "The Origin of the Earth" (1916)Notes
References
* Dott, Robert H., Jr. 2006. [http://www.gsajournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1130%2F1052-5173(2006)16%5B30:RSTCC%5D2.0.CO%3B2 Rock Stars: Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (1843–1928)] . "GSA Today": Vol. 16, No. 10 pp. 30–31.
External links
* [http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/histgeol/chamber/chamber.htm Biography by James S. Aber]
* [http://arti.vub.ac.be/cursus/2005-2006/mwo/chamberlin1890science.pdf T.C. Chamberlin, "The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses"] (PDF format)
* [http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/railsback_chamberlin.html "T. C. Chamberlin's "Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses": An encapsulation for modern students", by L. Bruce Railsback]
* [http://www.beloit.edu/~archives/documents/archival_collections/alumni/thomas_chamberlin.php Chamberlin holdings at Beloit College Archives]Persondata
NAME= Chamberlin, Thomas Chrowder
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Americangeologist andeducator , founder of the "Journal of Geology "
DATE OF BIRTH=September 25 1843
PLACE OF BIRTH=Mattoon,Illinois ,United States
DATE OF DEATH=November 15 1928
PLACE OF DEATH=Chicago, Illinois, United States
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.