Donald Eaton Carr (October 17, 1903 – September 1986) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, writer,

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

and research

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

. He was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, on October 17, 1903. He obtained a science degree from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1930. In 1934 he married Mildred Clarke, From 1930 until 1947 he was a research chemist at the

Union Oil Company Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

. He wrote seven books, mostly about air and water

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

. Carr's ''The Eternal Return'', published in 1968 was a work on the

philosophy of time Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

which advocates a theory of eternal return. Carr dismissed the idea of

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

and stated that everything that happens has happened an infinite number of times and will recur an infinite number of times in the future.

Selected publications

* ''The Breath of Life'' (

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada *Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

, 1965) * ''Death of the Sweet Waters'' (Norton, 1966) * ''The Eternal Return'' ( Doubleday, 1968) * ''The Sexes'' (Doubleday, 1970) * ''The Deadly Feast of Life'' (Doubleday, 1971) * ''The Forgotten Senses'' (Doubleday, 1972) * ''Energy and the Earth Machine'' (Norton, 1976)"Energy and the Earth Machine"
''Kirkus Reviews''. Retrieved March 30, 2020.

References

1903 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American chemists 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers American environmentalists American non-fiction environmental writers Philosophers of time University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century American male writers {{US-nonfiction-writer-stub