Daniel Barringer (geologist)
Daniel Moreau Barringer ( May 25, 1860 - November 30, 1929 ) was an American geologist and mining contractor. He is known as the first researcher to prove the existence of an impact crater on Earth, Barringer Crater in Arizona . The crater on a property owned by Barringer was renamed Barringer Crater in his honor .
Life
Daniel Moreau Barringer was the son of the politician Daniel Moreau Barringer , a nephew of General Rufus Barringer and a cousin of Paul Brandon Barringer . He graduated from Princeton University in 1879 at the age of 19 and from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 1882 . He later studied geology and mineralogy at Harvard University and the University of Virginia .
In 1892, Barringer, along with friend Richard AF Penrose Jr. and others, bought a gold and silver mine near Cochise County , Arizona . Barringer later discovered the Commonwealth silver mine in Pearce, Arizona . It was through these mining companies that he became rich.
crater
In 1902, Barringer learned of the existence of a large crater, 1.5 km in diameter, 35 miles east of Flagstaff , Arizona. The crater, previously known as Coon Mountain , had previously been investigated in 1891 by the American geologist Grove Karl Gilbert . Gilbert initially assumed that the crater was the result of a gas explosion or a meteorite. However, after experiments in the crater, Gilbert concluded that the crater cannot be the result of an impact and therefore only the result of an explosion. Despite the clear presence of thousands of small meteoritic particles near the crater, Gilbert stuck to his thesis.
When Barringer heard of the existence of the crater and the meteoritic iron found in it, he was convinced that the crater was of meteoritic origin. With scientific and monetary goals in mind, Barringer formed the Standard Iron Company to mine the iron he suspected beneath the crater's surface. The Standard Iron Company conducted drilling work in and around the crater between 1903 and 1905 and concluded that the crater had indeed been caused by a violent impact. However, the meteorite could not be found.
In 1906, Barringer and his partner, mathematician and physicist Benjamin C. Tilghman , presented the US Geological Survey with their first paper presenting the evidence in support of impact theory.
Mining in the crater continued until 1929 without finding the ten million ton meteorite that Barringer suspected there. At this point, astronomer Forest Ray Moulton was making calculations on the meteorite's energy consumption on impact and concluded that the meteorite was most likely evaporated when it hit. At that point, Barringer had spent over $ 600,000 mining the crater and nearly went bankrupt with no iron finds to be brought to light.
Barringer died of a heart attack on November 30, 1929, shortly after hearing the convincing arguments that there was no iron to be found. He left behind his wife Margaret Bennett and eight children. They founded the Barringer Crater Company with their descendants , who still own the site to this day.
By the time of his death, Barringer had convinced most of the scientific community that his impact theory was correct. This theory has since been corroborated by new evidence, particularly by Eugene Shoemaker in the 1960s.
Appreciation
The following are also named after Daniel Barringer:
- Barringerite : a mineral
- Barringer (moon crater)
- (3693) Barringer : an asteroid
Individual evidence
- ^ DM Barringer: Coon Mountain and its Crater . In: Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia , 57, 1906, pp. 861-886. PDF
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Barringer, Daniel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Barringer, Daniel Moreau |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American geologist and mining contractor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 25, 1860 |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 30, 1929 |