Amos Henry Worthen
Amos Henry Worthen (born October 31, 1813 in Bradford , † May 6, 1888 in Warsaw ) was an American geologist and paleontologist .
Life
Worthen was the eleventh of twelve children of a farmer. His mother came from the Adams family. He attended Bradford Academy and after his marriage in 1834 with his wife moved west to Kentucky , Ohio and in 1836 to Warsaw in the Mississippi Valley in Illinois , where he finally settled. There he worked as a businessman with mediocre success. His passion was nature research and in addition to his job, he explored the formations of the Lower Carboniferous in the vicinity of his home and collected fossils and minerals on his business trips in the upper Mississippi Valley. He corresponded with scientists on the east coast, was considered an expert on the geology of the part of the Mississippi Valley bordering on Illinois and gave up his business in 1855 and turned entirely to geology and paleontology after the first state geologist of Illinois Joseph Granville Norwood ( 1807–1895) 1853 invited to collaborate. From 1855 to 1857 he was assistant to Iowa State Geologist James Hall , whom he helped create a geological cross-section from Lansing, Iowa to St. Louis (Missouri) . In 1858 he became a state geologist for Illinois, which he remained until his death. Norwood had previously been fired, in part for political reasons, and became a Missouri State Geologist. The funding of the geological survey had to be renewed regularly by the government and was even completely absent once (1875 to 1877). During this time he continued the work free of charge and after resuming employment he was also curator at the newly created Illinois State Museum in 1877 .
Worthen was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and, since 1872, the National Academy of Sciences .
He had been married since 1834 and had a daughter and six sons.
literature
- Charles A. White: Memoir of Amos Henry Worthen, Biographical Memoirs National Academy of Sciences, 1893, pdf (PDF)
- Jacques Reich, Appletons' annual cyclopedia and register of important events of the year 1888. New Series, Vol. XIII. D. Appleton & Company, New York 1889, p. 659, Textarchiv - Internet Archive
Web links
- Literature by and about Amos Henry Worthen in the WorldCat bibliographic database
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Worthen, Amos Henry |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American geologist and paleontologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 31, 1813 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bradford |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 6, 1888 |
| Place of death | Warsaw |