Henry Smith Munroe (March 25, 1850 – May 4, 1933) (born Henry Maynard Smith) 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 ...
who worked in
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
as a
foreign advisor to the Japanese government.
Biography
Munroe was born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and obtained a Masters of Engineering at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1869. From 1870 to 1871 he worked as Assistant Geologist with the
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
State Geological Survey. Between 1870 and 1872 he occupied the post of Assistant Chemist at the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
.
Hired by the
Japanese government
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...
on a three-year contract from 1872 and 1875, Munroe was assigned to
Yesso (now
Hokkaidō
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
), in northern Japan, as Assistant Geologist and Mining Engineer with the Geological Survey of Yesso for the Hokkaidō Colonization Agency. Munroe was one of a group of foreign engineers (including
Horace Capron
Horace Capron (August 31, 1804 – February 22, 1885) was an American businessman and agriculturalist, a founder of Laurel, Maryland, a Union officer in the American Civil War, the United States Secretary of Agriculture under U.S. Presiden ...
,
Thomas Antisell
Thomas Antisell (16 January 1817 – 14 June 1893) was a physician, scientist, professor, and Young Irelander. He fought in the American Civil War, and served as an advisor to the Japanese Meiji government.
Early life and education
Antisell wa ...
,
A.G. Warfield and
Benjamin Lyman) who conducted a land and resources survey of Hokkaidō, with the particular aim of developing its mineral resources. Munroe was assigned to work with Lyman on a
geological survey
A geological survey is the systematic investigation of the geology beneath a given piece of ground for the purpose of creating a geological map or model. Geological surveying employs techniques from the traditional walk-over survey, studying outc ...
after Antisell had been dismissed from his post due to personal conflicts with Capron. His work laid the foundations for the future
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
industry in Hokkaido.
At the conclusion of his contract, Munroe was hired as a professor of Geology and Mining at the
Tokyo Imperial University from 1875 and 1876.
Munroe returned to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and obtained his
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1877, where he subsequently became Adjunct Professor of Mining until 1891. He was Professor of Mining at Columbia from 1891 until 1915. From 1897 to 1899 he was Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Columbia University. In 1917 he became Consulting Engineer to the
United States Bureau of Mines. His brother,
Edmund Munroe Smith, was also a professor at Columbia.
On May 4, 1933, Munroe died at home in
Litchfield, Connecticut
Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorporat ...
.
References
The Connecticut Historical Society, Henry Smith Munroe Papers Accessed 13 October 2006.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Munroe, Henry Smith
1850 births
1933 deaths
American geologists
Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan
Foreign educators in Japan
Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni
American expatriates in Japan
Scientists from Brooklyn
Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty
Academic staff of the University of Tokyo
Scientists from New York (state)