Alfred Hulse Brooks (July 18, 1871 – November 22, 1924) was an American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alt ...

who served as chief geologist for

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

for 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 1903 to 1924. He is credited with discovering that the biggest mountain range in Arctic

, now called the Brooks Range, was separate from the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. He also took many photographs of local communities. A collection of the images is held at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

Early life

Alfred Hulse Brooks was born on July 18, 1871, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Hannah (née Hulse) and Thomas Benton Brooks. He was educated at a private school in

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, ...

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1894.. After his graduation, he also studied in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

Career

In 1898, the federal government announced a systematic topographic and geologic survey of Alaska that would include renewed exploration of what became known as the Brooks Range. Alfred Hulse Brooks, the new assistant geologist and head of the Alaskan branch of the

(USGS), called the project "far more important than any previously done," due in large part because it "furnished the first clue to the geography and geology of the part of Alaska north of the Yukon Basin." Between 1899 and 1911, six major reconnaissance expeditions traversed the mountain range, mapping its

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary s ...

and

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

and defining the patterns of economic geology so important to prospectors and miners. He was appointed geological curator of Alaskan mineral resources 1902. Every year from 1904 to 1916 and from 1919 to 1923, Brooks wrote summaries of Alaska's mineral industries. The missed years, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, were those that he spent in France as chief geologist for the American Expeditionary Force in France.

Personal life

Brooks married. He had two children, Mary and Benton. Brooks had a stroke at his desk at the Interior Department. He died the following morning, November 22, 1924, at a hospital in Washington, D.C. Brooks was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Honors

* 1913 - Received the Charles P. Daly Medal of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

. * 1913 - Received the Malte-Brun gold medal of the

Geographical Society of Paris Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...

, France. * 1925 - The Brooks Range, a mountain range that stretches from west to east across northern Alaska and into Canada's Yukon Territory was named for Mr. Brooks. * The Brooks Building at the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for ...

is named for him. The building housed the university's mining engineering and related programs for several decades, and currently houses their programs and services for Alaska Native students. * The mineral Hulsite is named for Mr. Brooks. * Brooks Falls and

Brooks Lake Brooks Lake is a lake in Wright County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Brooks Lake was named for a pioneer settler. See also *List of lakes in Minnesota This is a list of lakes of Minnesota. Although promoted as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", ...

Katmai National Park and Preserve Katmai National Park and Preserve is an American national park and preserve in southwest Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears. The park and preserve encompass , which is between the sizes of Connecticut ...

are named for him.

Publications

* "Preliminary report on the Ketchikan mining district, Alaska, with an introductory sketch of the geology of southeastern Alaska" by Alfred Hulse Brooks. US Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 1, 1902 *
The geography and geology of Alaska: a summary of existing knowledge
by Alfred Hulse Brooks,

Cleveland Abbe Cleveland Abbe (December 3, 1838 – October 28, 1916) was an American meteorologist and advocate of time zones. While director of the Cincinnati Observatory in Cincinnati, Ohio, he developed a system of telegraphic weather reports, dail ...

, and Richard Urquhart Goode. US Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 45, 1906. * ''Railway Routes in Alaska'' (1907) * ''Mining and Mineral Wealth of Alaska'' (1909) Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle, Washington, 1909. Dept. of the Interior. Alaskan exhibit. Washington: Judd and Detweiler. 46 p. double map. *
The Mount McKinley Region, Alaska
' USGS Professional Paper No. 70 (1911) * ''Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead and Zinc in Western States and Alaska'' (1913) * "Mineral resources of Alaska, report on progress of investigations in 1912" by Alfred Hulse Brooks, G.C. Martin, Philip Sidney Smith. US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 542, 1913. 308 p. * "The German defenses of the Lorraine Front" by Alfred Hulse Brooks. United States Army, American Expeditionary Forces. 1918. * "The iron and associated industries of Lorraine, the Saare district, Luxemburg, and Belgium" by Alfred H. Brooks and Morris F. La Croix. US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 703, 1920.

Sources

* "Alfred Hulse Brooks" by George Otis Smith Science, Volume 61, Issue 1569, pp. 80–81 * "Memorial of Alfred Hulse Brooks" by Philip Sidney Smith.

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...

Bulletin; March 1926; v. 37; no. 1; p. 15-48

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Alfred Hulse 1871 births 1924 deaths American geologists Brooks Range Harvard University alumni People of the Alaska Territory United States Geological Survey personnel People from Ann Arbor, Michigan Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)