James Perrin Smith (November 27, 1864 – January 1, 1931) was an American geologist and paleontologist. Smith was of English descent. T. M. Forster, one of his ancestors, was a surgeon in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and moved to Virginia in 1745. His paternal grandfather moved the family from Virginia to South Carolina, and Smith was born on November 27, 1864, near Cokesburg, to James Francis Smith, a planter and traveling preacher. James P. Smith was educated by his parents and elder brother Charles Forster Smith. In the 1870s, the family moved to

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat, seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest c ...

, where James obtained a bachelor's degree at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was founded in 1854. The campus is a national arboretum and one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the America ...

in 1884. Smith then attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

until 1887, for a master's degree. He subsequently taught high school science and mathematics in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

for two years. Smith then worked for the

Arkansas Geological Survey The Arkansas Geological Survey (AGS), formerly the Arkansas Geological Commission (AGC), is a government agency of the State of Arkansas. It is responsible for the investigation of the geology, geologic processes, and geologic resources within the ...

under

John Casper Branner John Casper Branner (July 4, 1850 – March 1, 1922)Memorial Res ...

. Between 1890 and 1892, Smith studied at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. His doctoral work was supervised by

Adolf von Koenen Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

. Smith joined the

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

faculty at Branner's invitation upon completing his Ph.D, and retired in June 1930. He died of pneumonia on January 1, 1931 in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

. Smith Creek on northern Ellesmere Island is named after him, and indirectly the Smithian sub-stage of Early Triassic time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James Perrin 1864 births 1931 deaths American paleontologists 20th-century American geologists American people of English descent People from Spartanburg, South Carolina Wofford College alumni Vanderbilt University alumni University of Göttingen alumni Stanford University faculty Deaths from pneumonia in California Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences