Charles Doolittle Walcott (March 31, 1850February 9, 1927) was an American

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, administrator of the

Smithsonian Institution 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 ...

from 1907 to 1927, and director of 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, ...

Wonderful Life (book) ''Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History'' is a 1989 book on the evolution of Cambrian fauna by Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. The volume made ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list, was the 1991 winner of the R ...

by Stephen Jay Gould published in 1989, Chapter 4 He is famous for his discovery in 1909 of well-preserved

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s, including some of the oldest soft-part imprints, in the

Burgess Shale The Burgess Shale is a fossil-bearing deposit exposed in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils. At old (middle Cambrian), it is one of the earliest fo ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Early life

Charles Doolittle Walcott was born on March 31, 1850 in

New York Mills, New York New York Mills is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 3,327 at the 2010 census. The Village of New York Mills is partly in the Town of Whitestown and partly in the Town of New Hartford. It is a western suburb ...

. His grandfather, Benjamin S. Walcott, moved from Rhode Island in 1822. His father, also Charles Doolittle Walcott, died when Charles Jr. was only two. Walcott was the youngest of four children. He was interested in nature from an early age, collecting minerals and

bird eggs Bird eggs are laid by the females and range in quantity from one (as in condors) to up to seventeen (the grey partridge). Clutch size may vary latitudinally within a species. Some birds lay eggs even when the eggs have not been fertilized; it is ...

and, eventually, fossils. He attended various schools in the Utica area but left at the age of eighteen without completing high school, the end of his formal education. His interest in fossils solidified as he became a commercial fossil collector. On January 9, 1872, Walcott married Lura Ann Rust, daughter of the owner of a farm in New York where Walcott made one of his most important

trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the ...

discoveries ( Walcott-Rust quarry). She died on January 23, 1876. Walcott's interest in fossils led to his acquaintance with Louis Agassiz of Harvard University, who encouraged him to work in the field of

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

; later that year, he began work as the assistant to the state paleontologist, James Hall. He lost this job after two years but was soon recruited to the newly formed

US 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, and ...

as a geological assistant.

Career

Walcott began his professional paleontology career by discovering new localities, such as the Walcott-Rust quarry in upstate New York and the Georgia Plane trilobite beds in Vermont, and by selling specimens to Yale University. In 1876, he became the assistant to James Hall, State Geologist of New York. Walcott also became a member of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. In 1879, Walcott joined the

and rose to become chief paleologist in 1893 and then director in 1894. His work focused on Cambrian strata in locations throughout the United States and Canada; his numerous field trips and

discoveries made important contributions to stratigraphy. He married Helena Breese Stevens in 1888. They had four children between 1889 and 1896: Charles Doolittle Walcott, Sydney Stevens Walcott, Helena Breese Walcott, and Benjamin Stuart Walcott. Walcott was elected to the

National Academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...

of Sciences in 1896. In 1901, he served both as president of the

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 ...

and the

Philosophical Society of Washington Founded in 1871, the Philosophical Society of Washington is the oldest scientific society in Washington, D.C. It continues today as PSW Science. Since 1887, the Society has met regularly in the assembly hall of the Cosmos Club. In the Club's pr ...

. In 1902, he met with

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

and became one of the founders and incorporators of the

Carnegie Institution of Washington The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. Th ...

. He served in various administrative and research positions in that organization. In 1921 Walcott was awarded the inaugural

Mary Clark Thompson Medal The Mary Clark Thompson Medalis awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for most important service to geology and paleontology." Named after Mary Clark Thompson and first awarded in 1921, it was originally presented every three years toget ...

from the National Academy of Sciences. He served as

president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), founded in 1848, is the world's largest general scientific society. It serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science and engineering, representing 10 million individuals wo ...

in 1923. He was an advisor to then-president

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. Walcott had an interest in the conservation movement and assisted its efforts.

Smithsonian

Walcott became Secretary of the

in 1907 after the death of

Samuel Pierpont Langley Samuel Pierpont Langley (August 22, 1834 – February 27, 1906) was an American aviation pioneer, astronomer and physicist who invented the bolometer. He was the third secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and a professor of astronomy a ...

, holding the latter post until his own death. He was succeeded by

Charles Greeley Abbot Charles Greeley Abbot (May 31, 1872 – December 17, 1973) was an American astrophysicist and the fifth secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, serving from 1928 until 1944. Abbot went from being director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Obser ...

. Because of Walcott's responsibilities at the Smithsonian, he resigned as director of the United States Geological Survey. As part of the centennial celebration of Darwin's birth, Walcott was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cambridge in 1909.

Burgess shale

In 1910, the year after his discovery of (

middle Cambrian Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

) fossils in the

Burgess shale The Burgess Shale is a fossil-bearing deposit exposed in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils. At old (middle Cambrian), it is one of the earliest fo ...

, Walcott returned to the area accompanied by his sons Stuart and Sidney. Together they examined all the layers on the ridge above the point where the fossil-laden rock had been found, eventually finding the fossiliferous band. Between 1910 and 1924, Walcott returned repeatedly to collect more than 65,000 specimens from what is now known as the

Walcott Quarry The Walcott Quarry is the most famous quarry of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, located in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, bearing the Phyllopod bed The Phyllopod bed, designated by USNM locality number 35k, is the most famous foss ...

, named after him. The find includes exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils, one of the oldest fossil beds containing soft-part imprints. Walcott's wife Helena died in a train crash in Connecticut in 1911. In 1914, Walcott married his third wife, Mary Morris Vaux, an amateur artist and avid naturalist. She accompanied him on his expeditions, enjoying the study of nature. She made watercolor illustrations of wildflowers as she traveled with him in Canada. Although Walcott spent a considerable amount of time at the Burgess Shale quarry on what became known as Fossil Ridge, he also traveled widely in other areas of the Canadian

Rockies 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 ...

. Some of his numerous scientific publications feature spectacular panoramic photographs of the mountains taken from high passes or high on mountain slopes.

The NACA

In 1914 Walcott convened a conference in Washington, D.C. for the purpose of stimulating interest in aeronautic science, and its relation to the U.S. government. The conference led to an act of congress organizing an Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (later named the

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...

) "to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution." This committee was composed of twelve members, two each from the Army and Navy, one each representing the Smithsonian Institution, the

Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

, and the

National Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...

. Five additional members were chosen "who shall be acquainted with the needs of aeronautical science, either civil or military, or skilled in aeronautical engineering or its allied sciences." Brigadier General George P. Scriven, Chief Signal Officer of the Army, was chairman of the committee; Walcott was elected chairman of the Executive Committee.

William F. Durand William Frederick Durand (March 5, 1859 – August 9, 1958) was a United States naval officer and pioneer mechanical engineer. He contributed significantly to the development of aircraft propellers. He was the first civilian chair of the National ...

was one of the civilian members of the Committee.

Death and legacy

After Walcott's death in Washington, DC, his samples, photographs, and notes remained in storage until their rediscovery by a new generation of paleontologists in the late 1960s. Since then, many of his interpretations have been revised. Walcott would be little known today if he had not been brought to attention by Stephen Jay Gould's book '' Wonderful Life'' (1989). In this book, Gould put forth his opinion that Walcott failed to see the differences among the Burgess Shale species and "shoehorned" most of these fossils into existing phyla. Many paleontologists would now take a much less negative view of Walcott's descriptions and of the theoretical perspective that shaped them. Walcott's work on Ordovician trilobites of New York also tended to be overlooked until, in the early 1990s, Rochester-based amateur paleontologist Thomas Whiteley revived Walcott's research and re-opened the

Walcott–Rust quarry The Walcott–Rust quarry, in Herkimer County, New York, is an excellent example of an obrution (rapid burial or "smothered") Lagerstätte. Unique preservation of trilobite appendages resulted from early consolidation (cementation) of the surround ...

near Russia, New York. This localized stratum has some of the best preserved

Laurentia Laurentia or the North American Craton is a large continental craton that forms the ancient geological core of North America. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate continent, as it is now in the form of North America, althoug ...

n trilobites ever found, including enrolled specimens with soft body parts. The Walcott Peak, near where he first discovered the Burgess Shale on

Mount Burgess Mount Burgess, , is a mountain in Yoho National Park and is part of the Canadian Rockies. It is located in the southwest buttress of Burgess Pass in the Emerald River and Kicking Horse River Valleys. History It was named in 1886 by astronomer ...

, was named after him. The nearby

, with the

Phyllopod bed The Phyllopod bed, designated by USNM locality number 35k, is the most famous fossil-bearing member of the Burgess Shale fossil ''Lagerstätte''. It was quarried by Charles Walcott from 1911–1917 (and later named Walcott Quarry), and was t ...

of Burgess Shale fossils between Wapta Mountain and Mount Field, is also named for him. The

Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal is an award presented by the National Academy of Sciences every five years to promote research and study in the fields of Precambrian and Cambrian life and history. The medal was established and endowed in 1934 by ...

is awarded by the National Academy of Sciences every five years for outstanding work in the field of Precambrian and Cambrian life and history. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

was named in his honor.

Publications

* * *''Cambrian Brachiopoda with descriptions of new genera and species'', (1905) Proceedings of the United States National Museum; v. 28. *''Cambrian faunas of China'', (1905) From the Proceedings of the United States national museum, vol.xxx. 106 p.
''Cambrian Geology and Paleontology''
(1910) a
Internet Archive
*''Correlation Papers on the Cambrian'', (1890) Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey; no.81. 447 p. *''The fauna of the Lower Cambrian or Olenellus zone'', (1890) Extract from the 10th annual report of the director of the U. S. Geological Survey, 1888–89, pt. I. p. 516–524. *''Fossil Medusa'', (1898) Monographs of the United States Geological Survey; no.30, 201 p. *''Geology of the Eureka district, Nevada, with an atlas'', (1892) Monographs of the United States Geological Survey; no.20, 419 p. *''The North American continent during Cambrian time'', (1892) Extract from the 12th annual report of the director of the U.S. Geological survey, 1890–91, pt. I. pp:523–568 *''Cambrian faunas of North America'', (1884) from Bulletin of the U. S. Geological Survey *''The Paleontology of the Eureka District'', (1884) Monographs of the United States Geological Survey; no.8, 298 p.

References

External links

* * * * *
Walcott PeakCharles Doolittle Walcott MedalFinding Aid to the Charles D. Walcott Collection, 1851–1940, and undated

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walcott, Charles Doolittle 1850 births 1927 deaths American paleontologists Secretaries of the Smithsonian Institution United States Geological Survey personnel Wollaston Medal winners Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925) Paleobiologists People from New York Mills, New York Scientists from New York (state) Presidents of the Geological Society of America