Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden

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Lunch at the Hayden Expedition Camp. Hayden in the dark jacket sits in the center of the picture.

Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (born September 7, 1829 in Westfield , Massachusetts , † December 22, 1887 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) was an American geologist who is known for his pioneering studies in the 19th century in the Rocky Mountains .

Career

When Ferdinand Hayden was ten years old, his father died. Ferdinand Hayden moved to Ohio to live with his uncle . He began teaching at age 16, and entered Oberlin College two years later, graduating in 1850. He then studied at Albany Medical College in the US state of New York . He completed this in 1853. Hayden used medical school more as background knowledge than as a profession. Thanks to the influence of New York State paleontologist and geologist Professor James Hall , his interest in geology increased. Among other things, he took part in the geological exploration of Nebraska . From 1856 he carried out a series of surveys in the 109 Western Territories for the American government . One result of this was the "geological report exploring the Yellowstone River and the Missouri River from 1859 to 1860" ( Geological Report of the Exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers in 1859-1860 ). Around the same time he became a member of the Megatherium Club of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC

Military doctor and explorer

In the American Civil War he served as a military doctor and worked his way up to become the first medical officer in the Shenandoah Army . After the war, he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel ( lieutenant colonel from) from the army. Two years later he was appointed director of the "geological and geographical exploration of the US territories". He held this position for twelve years. During this time he went on annual research trips, which resulted in a number of valuable insights in all areas of natural history and economics. He also published in 1877 his "geological and geographical atlas of Colorado " ( Geological and Geographical Atlas of Colorado ).

In 1872, with his expedition from the previous year , Hayden made a decisive contribution to the establishment of Yellowstone as the first national park in the world by hiring the photographer William Henry Jackson and the painter Thomas Moran as members of the expedition. Their pictures and photos of the Yellowstone area fascinated government officials, which ultimately led to the establishment of the national park. Earlier visitors to the Yellowstone area, such as John Colter and Jim Bridger , had spoken of the wonders of the Yellowstone , but had little faith. In 1872 and 1878 he led further research trips to the Yellowstone area.

Other trips have taken him to the Mesa Verde ruins in Colorado and the pueblos in the southwestern United States.

After the establishment of the US Geological Survey in 1879, he worked as a geologist for another seven years before he had to stop work for health reasons. He died in Philadelphia on December 22, 1887.

Honors

Hayden was a member of the American Philosophical Society since 1860 and of the National Academy of Sciences since 1873 . In 1881 he was elected a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina .

Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden was an honorary member of the Thuringian-Saxon Society for Geography.

A place is named after him in the valley of the Yampa River in Colorado.

Fonts (selection)

  • On the Geology and Natural History of the upper Missouri: Being the Substance of a report made to Lieut. GK Warren, TEUSA C. Sherman & Son, Philadelphia 1862, (online) .
  • Geological Report of the Exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers in 1859-1860 (1869)
  • Sun Pictures of Rocky Mountain Scenery (1870)
  • The Yellowstone National Park , illustrated by chromolithographic reproductions of water-color sketches by Thomas Moran (1876)
  • Geological and Geographical Atlas of Colorado (1877)
  • The Great West: its Attractions and Resources (1880)

He also published with Fielding Bradford Meek : “Palaeontology of the Upper Missouri, Pt. 1, Invertebrate. ” ( Smithsonian Institution Contributions , v. 14th Art. 4). His valuable notes on the dialects of the American Indians appeared in The Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (1862), The American Journal of Science (1862), and The Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (1869).

literature

  • Aubrey L. Haines: The Yellowstone Story. A History of our First National Park , Volume Two, University Press of Colorado, Niwot, 1996, ISBN 0-87081-391-9

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Geological and geographical atlas of Colorado and portions of adjacent territory
  2. ↑ Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden and the founding of the Yellowstone National Park . With Sketches by Thomas Moran and Photographs by WH Jackson. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey (US)
  3. ^ Photographs of the Yellowstone National Park by WH Jackson
  4. ^ The Yellowstone Founding Bill
  5. ↑ Member History: Ferdinand V. Hayden. American Philosophical Society, accessed September 25, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Member entry of Ferdinand Vanderveer Hayden at the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina , accessed on November 23, 2015.
  7. ^ Directory of the members of the Thuringian-Saxon Geography Association on March 31, 1885 ( Memento from December 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Hayden, Ferdinand Vandeveer
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American geologist
DATE OF BIRTH September 7, 1829
PLACE OF BIRTH Westfield , Massachusetts , United States
DATE OF DEATH December 22, 1887
Place of death Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States