Alexander H. Rice, Jr.
| Alexander Hamilton Rice Jr. | |
|---|---|
Rice in the field
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| Born |
August 2, 1875 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | July 21, 1956 (aged 80) Newport, Rhode Island, United States |
| Residence | Newport, Rhode Island |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Geography |
| Institutions | Harvard University |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Known for | aerial mapping and Amazon River exploration |
| Notable awards | Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur |
| Spouse | Eleanor Elkins Widener (m. 1915) |
Alexander Hamilton Rice Jr. (August 29, 1875 – July 21, 1956) was an American physician, geographer, geologist and explorer especially noted for his expeditions to the Amazon Basin. He was professor of geography at Harvard University from 1929 to 1952, and was the founder and director of the Harvard Institute of Geographical Exploration.
Rice's grandfather was former Boston mayor, Massachusetts governor and US Congressman Alexander Hamilton Rice. After attending the Noble and Greenough School he earned an A.B. from Harvard College (1898) and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School (1904). In 1915, he married widowed RMS Titanic survivor Eleanor Elkins Widener.
In 1914–1915 he volunteered for the Paris surgical staff of the Ambulance Américain, a group of American civilian doctors serving in Europe prior to the United States' entry into World War I. From 1915 to 1917 he directed the Hôpital 72, Société de Secours aux Blessés Militaires, a French charity hospital also in Paris.
On the United States' 1917 entry into the war, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve, directing the 2nd Naval District Training School for Reserve Officers at Newport, Rhode Island, where he served until 1919. In 1919, he was awarded the Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur for his service to the people of France.
In 1922 Rice was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for US Congress from the Massachusetts 12th Congressional District.
As a geographer and explorer Rice specialized in rivers. On seven expeditions, beginning in 1907, he explored 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km2) of the Amazon Basin, mapping a number of previously unknown rivers in the northwestern area of the Amazon Basin reaching into Colombia and Venezuela.
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