Everett Claire Olson (November 6, 1910 – November 27, 1993) was an American
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
noted for his seminal research of origin and evolution of vertebrate animals.
[National Academy Press:Biographical Memoirs:Everett C. Olson;By Michael A. Bell](_blank)
/ref>[University of California; In Memoriam;Everett Claire Olson, Biology: Los Angeles; Professor Emeritus](_blank)
/ref>[University of Chicago:Department of the Geophysical Sciences:About Us:Everett C. Olson was trained as a vertebrate paleontologist and carried out pioneering research on the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems](_blank)
/ref>
Through his research studying terrestrial vertebrate fossils he identified intervals of extinction in the Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...
and Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
. He also proposed stratigraphic correlations between North American (especially the Chickasha
Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,036 at the 2010 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The city is named for and strongly connected ...
and San Angelo Formations) and Russian vertebrate-bearing strata for which additional support was found much later. The drop in terrestrial vertebrate diversity he proposed in at the end of the Kungurian
In the geologic timescale, the Kungurian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the latest or upper of four subdivisions of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Kungurian lasted between and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Artin ...
stage of the Permian period
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleozo ...
that occurred 270 million years ago now carries his name - Olson's Extinction
Olson's Extinction was a mass extinction that occurred in the late Cisuralian or early Guadalupian of the Permian period and which predated the Permian–Triassic extinction event.
It is named after Everett C. Olson. There was a sudden change be ...
. Alternatively, some scientists think that the change was gradual but that it looks abrupt because of a gap in the fossil record, called "Olson's Gap".
Some of his other notable research also included the taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
''Slaugenhopia
''Slaugenhopia'' is an extinct genus of dvinosaurian temnospondyl within the family Tupilakosauridae. Fossils have been found from the Early Permian San Angelo Formation in Texas. The type and only species, ''S. texensis'', was named in 1962. It ...
'', ''Trimerorhachis
''Trimerorhachis'' is an extinct genus of dvinosaurian temnospondyl within the family Trimerorhachidae. It is known from the Early Permian of the southwestern United States, with most fossil specimens having been found in the Texas Red Beds. Th ...
'', and ''Waggoneria
''Waggoneria'' is a genus of seymouriamorph from the Early Permian of Texas. It was named by American paleontologist Everett C. Olson in 1951 on the basis of a holotype fossil that included a weathered skull, lower jaws, vertebrae, and part of ...
''.The evolution of a Permian vertebrate;Everett C Olson
/ref>
Olson was a former chair of the department of Biology at the UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
,
a member of the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
,
a recipient of Paleontological Medal of the Paleontological Society
The Paleontological Society, formerly the Paleontological Society of America, is an international organisation devoted to the promotion of paleontology. The Society was founded in 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland, and was incorporated in April 1968 in ...
(1987), the first recipient of the Romer-Simpson Medal
The Romer-Simpson Medal is the highest award issued by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology for "sustained and outstanding scholarly excellence and service to the discipline of vertebrate paleontology". The award is named in honor of Alfred S. Ro ...
of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, a CSEOL Distinguished Scientist (1991).
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
said that Olson "was an internationally recognized pioneer in studies of the origin and evolution of vertebrate animals".
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 ...
said that he "carried out pioneering research on the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems".
The National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
said that he ranked "among the great vertebrate paleontologists of the twentieth century".
Life and career
Olson was born in Waupaca, Wisconsin
Waupaca is a city in and the county seat of Waupaca County, Wisconsin, Waupaca County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 6,282 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
The city is located mostly within the Waupaca (town), ...
and grew up in Hinsdale, Illinois
Hinsdale is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Hinsdale is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 17,395 at the 2020 census, most of whom lived in DuPage County. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town ...
.
Olson received his undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Ph.D. in 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 Ear ...
(1935) from 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 ...
.
References
External links
Worldcat for Everett C. Olson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Everett C.
1910 births
1993 deaths
American paleontologists
20th-century American geologists
20th-century American zoologists
University of Chicago faculty
University of Chicago alumni
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
People from Waupaca, Wisconsin
People from Hinsdale, Illinois