William Williams Mather
| William Williams Mather | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
24 May 1804 Brooklyn, Connecticut |
| Died | 26 February 1859 (aged 54) Columbus, Ohio |
William Williams Mather (24 May 1804 – 26 February 1859) was an American geologist.
He was a lineal descendant of Richard Mather's son Timothy. He was admitted to the U.S. Military Academy in 1823. In 1826 and 1827 he led his class in the newly established department of chemistry and mineralogy, and to him were submitted the proof sheets of Webster's A Manual of Chemistry, then in process of publication. He also invented an apparatus for drawing water from the lowest depths of the Hudson River, and noting its temperature.
After his graduation in 1828, he remained at West Point as acting assistant instructor of artillery during the annual encampment, and was then stationed at the school of practice at Jefferson barracks until April 1829. From June 1829, he was for six years the acting assistant professor of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology at West Point. He was then ordered on topographical duty as assistant geologist to George William Featherstonhaugh, to examine the country from Green Bay to the Coteau des Prairies. This survey was the basis of a report and a topographical map of St. Peter's River valley. He then joined his regiment at Fort Gibson, and marched into the Choctaw country.
While still in the army, and acting as an instructor at West Point, he published several papers on chemistry and geology in the American Journal of Science and Arts. He also prepared a small work on geology for the use of schools (Washington, 1833), and a treatise on "Diluvion," for the use of the cadets. With the consent of the secretary of war he acted, in 1833, as professor of chemistry, geology, and mineralogy in Wesleyan University at Middletown, Connecticut, and in 1834 that institution gave him the degree of A.M. In 1836 he resigned from the army, and thereafter devoted himself exclusively to science.
...
Wikipedia