Albert Charles Peale (1 April 1849 – 5 December 1914) was an American geologist, mineralogist and
paleobotanist
Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...
.
Biography
Born in
Heckscherville, Pennsylvania
Heckscherville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 220 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Heckscherville is located at (40.720951, -76.266458).
Ac ...
, Albert C. Peale was the son of Charles Willson Peale (1821-1871) and Harriet Friel. Albert Peale's paternal grandfather was
Rubens Peale
Rubens Peale (May 4, 1784 – July 17, 1865) was an American museum administrator and artist. Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of artist-naturalist Charles Willson Peale. Due to his weak eyesight, he did not practice painting seriously until ...
and his paternal great-grandfather was the painter
Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...
.
Albert Peale graduated from the
with A.B. in 1868 and A.M in 1873. He studied during 1870 at the auxiliary medical department of the University of Pennsylvania and graduated there with M.D. in 1871.
[ Although he had a medical degree, he never practiced medicine.
]From 1871 to 1879, Peale served as a mineralogist and geologist for the United States Geological and Geographic Survey of the Territories. As such, he traveled on several of the Ferdinand Hayden
Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union A ...
expeditions that explored and mapped the western United States. In 1875, he married Emilie Wiswell, the daughter of the Rev. George F. Wiswell (1820-1892), a Philadelphia minister and former president of Delaware College (today the University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...
).
From 1882 to 1898 he was a geologist with the United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
. From 1898 to his death in 1914 in Philadelphia, Peale was a paleobotanist for the United States National Museum
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
. He was the author of numerous geographic and geological papers, reports, and monographs. From 1884 to 1897 he was Secretary of the Chemical Society of Washington.[
]Peale's name has been attached to several geological features located in widely separated localities, including Peale Island, the most southerly island in Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park. The lake is above sea level and covers with of shoreline. While the average depth of the lake is , its greatest depth is at least . Yellowstone Lake is the largest fre ...
; Mount Peale
Mount Peale is the highest point in the La Sal Mountains of San Juan County, in the southeastern part of Utah, United States. It is also the highest point in Utah outside the Uinta Mountains. It is located about southeast of Moab. The summit i ...
, the highest peak in the La Sal Mountains
The La Sal Mountains or La Sal Range are a mountain range located in Grand and San Juan counties in the U.S. state of Utah, along the border with Colorado. The range rises above and southeast of Moab and north of the town of La Sal. This range ...
in eastern Utah, near the Colorado border; and the Peale Mountains in eastern Caribou County, Idaho
Caribou County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census the county had a population of 7,027. The county seat and largest city is Soda Springs.
History
Robert Stuart explored the area of Soda Springs in 1812. Don ...
.
Selected publications
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See also
*Hayden Geological Survey of 1871
The Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that later became Yellowstone National Park in 1872. It was led by geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden. The 1871 survey was not Hayden's first, but it was the first ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Peale, Albert Charles
1849 births
1914 deaths
American geologists
Explorers of the United States
Paleobotanists
Albert Charles
People from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
United States Geological Survey personnel