Charles Kenneth Leith (January 20, 1875 – September 13, 1956) 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, althou ...

. He was head of the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

geology department for 30 years. In 1942, he was awarded the

Penrose Medal The Penrose Medal was created in 1925 by R.A.F. Penrose, Jr., as the top prize awarded by the Geological Society of America. Originally created as the Geological Society of America Medal it was soon renamed the Penrose Medal by popular assent of t ...

by 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 ...

, the highest award given in the geosciences.

Biography

Leith was born in Trempealeau (village), Wisconsin. He was hired by

Charles R. Van Hise Charles Richard Van Hise (May 29, 1857 – November 19, 1918) was an American geologist, academic and progressive. He served as president of the University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison, Wisconsin, from 1903 to 1918. Early life and education Char ...

as a stenographer in 1892 to work on his publications, and was so taken by the work that he completed a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

in geology at the University of Wisconsin in 1897 and a Ph.D. in 1901. In 1903, when Van Hise became president of the University of Wisconsin, he hired Leith as head of the geology department at the age of 28. Leith served as chair until 1934 (31 years), and remained with the department until he retired in 1945. He also lectured on structural and metamorphic geology at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

beginning in 1905. During a 1909 expedition in the

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

area, Leith and his brother Arthur were feared lost after departing from

Moose Factory Moose Factory is a community in the Cochrane District, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Moose Factory Island, near the mouth of the Moose River, which is at the southern end of James Bay. It was the first English-speaking settlement in lands no ...

. However, Leith later telegraphed his safe arrival in

Cochrane, Ontario Cochrane is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Kapuskasing, northeast of Timmins, south of Moosonee, and north of Iroquois Falls. It is about a one-hour drive from Timmins, the major city of the region. It is the seat ...

. Leith's early research focused on the geology of the

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

region, including the ore deposits of the Mesabi range. He served as a consultant for the location and valuation of ore deposits for several mining companies and served as mineral adviser to the

U.S. Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

and the

War Industries Board The War Industries Board (WIB) was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies between the War Department (Department of the Army) and the Navy Department. Becaus ...

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, ...

. He organized studies of world mineral supplies in the 1920s and served on many government agencies, including the Atomic Energy Commission, through the 1950s. Leith served as president of the Geological Society of America in 1933. Leith won the

Penrose Gold Medal The R.A.F. Penrose Gold Medal was established in 1923 and is awarded by the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) to recognize a full career in the performance of "unusually original work in the earth sciences". The medal was donated by American ge ...

of the Society of Economic Geologists in 1935. In June 1956 he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Wisconsin. Leith died at his home in Madison in 1956.

Works

''A Summer and Winter on Hudson Bay''
(1912) *
Structural Geology
' (1913) *
Metamorphic Geology
' (1915) *
The Economic Aspect of Geology
' (1921) * ''The Political Control of Mineral Resources'' (1925)
''World Minerals and World Politics : A Factual Study of Minerals in Their Political and International Relations''
(New York: Whittlesey House, 1931). * ''World Minerals and World Peace'' (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1943).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leith, Charles Kenneth American geologists University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Scientists from Madison, Wisconsin People from Trempealeau, Wisconsin Penrose Medal winners Writers from Madison, Wisconsin 1875 births 1956 deaths Economic geologists Presidents of the Geological Society of America

Biography

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links