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John Casper Branner (July 4, 1850 – March 1, 1922)Memorial Resolution: John Casper Branner, 1850-1922
, Stanford University Academic Council, April 7, 1922
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 ...
and
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
who discovered
bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
in
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
in 1887 as State Geologist for the Geological Survey of Arkansas. He was chair of the Departments of
Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
and
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 ...
at
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
and later at
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 ...
. He was a member of the founding faculty at Stanford and served as the university's second president. He served as president of 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. Hitchco ...
in 1904. He was president of the
Seismological Society of America The Seismological Society of America (SSA) is an international scientific society devoted to the advancement of seismology and the understanding of earthquakes for the benefit of society. Founded in 1906, the society has members throughout the wor ...
in 1911. He was an expert in Brazilian geology, among many other things.


Biography

Branner was born in the town of
New Market, Tennessee New Market is a town in Jefferson County, Tennessee, Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown, Tennessee, Morristown Morristown metropolitan area, Tennessee, metropolitan area. The population was 1,334 at the 2010 ce ...
, where his father was a merchant. In 1852, the family went to live on a farm given to his father by his grandfather a mile east of Dandridge on the
French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville forms ...
. He grew up there and on an adjacent property to which the family moved in 1859. During the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
he was very anxious to join the Confederate army, and on two occasions left school for the purpose of enlisting. His age, however, prevented his being accepted; he was only thirteen. In 1865, he went to school for a year at New Market and in 1867, he spent a year at
Maryville College Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of the ...
. He left that institution in 1868, and in 1869, went to
Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...
, to attend
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. He spent a year attending
Ithaca Academy Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...
and entered Cornell in 1870, in the so-called classical course. In 1874, without having completed his university studies, he went by way of Europe to Brazil with
Charles Fred Hartt Charles Frederick Hartt (23 August 1840 in Fredericton, New Brunswick – 18 March 1878) was a Canadian-American geologist, paleontologist and naturalist who specialized in the geology of Brazil. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Hartt graduate ...
, then professor of geology at Cornell. In 1875, he was made assistant on the geological survey of Brazil and remained on that work until the survey was abolished by the government and Professor Hartt died. In 1879, he accepted a position as assistant engineer and interpreter for the São Cyriaco Gold Mining Company of Boston, and spent a year near Serro, state of Minas Geraes, in the diamond regions of Brazil. In 1881, he returned to the United States, but was sent back to South America by Thomas Edison in search of a vegetable fiber for use in his then newly invented incandescent electric lamp. In 1882, he returned to Cornell University, completed his studies and graduated. In 1883 to 1885, he was topographic geologist of the Geological Survey of Pennsylvania in the anthracite regions; in 1885, after receiving 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 ...
from
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
, he was made professor of geology at Indiana University, a position he held until 1891, though he was absent on leave for several years. In 1886, he was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
. In 1887, he was appointed State Geologist of the Geological Survey of Arkansas. As State Geologist, he exposed gold-mining swindles then operating in Arkansas, for which the citizens of
Bear City, Arkansas Bear, formerly also called Bear City, is an unincorporated community in Garland County, Arkansas, United States. It is close to the shore of Lake Ouachita, which was formed by the construction of the Blakely Mountain Dam across the Ouachita River. ...
, burned him in effigy, and the stock promoters tried to have him fired. In 1891, he was appointed professor and chair of the Department of Geology at the newly opened
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 ...
, recruited by his colleague from Cornell and Indiana, Stanford President
David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...
. When Jordan retired as president of Stanford in 1913, Branner was elected President of the university. He retired January 1, 1916, due to an age limit established by the university and was named President Emeritus. While at Stanford he directed the Agassiz-Branner expedition to Brazil in 1899 and a second similar expedition in 1907–1908. He served on government commissions studying the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
and the
1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...
. He published a grammar of the Portuguese language, based on his work in Brazil, which went to multiple editions. In 1913, he greatly contributed to genealogical research of the Shenandoah Valley by privately publishing ''Casper Branner of Virginia and his Descendants'', a 453-page work documenting the genealogy of the Branner family and in particular the descendants of his great great grandparents, Casper Branner (1729–1792) and wife Catherine (1730–1800). He died 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 ...
, in 1922.


Legacy

A dormitory building, Branner Hall, and the
Branner Earth Sciences Library The Branner Earth Sciences Library and Map Collections is the main library supporting the Stanford University School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences on the Stanford University campus and part of Stanford University Libraries and Academic I ...
at Stanford are named after him. Two of his Stanford students, United States President
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
and his wife
Lou Henry Hoover Lou Hoover (née Henry; March 29, 1874 – January 7, 1944) was an American philanthropist, geologist, and First Lady of the United States from 1929 to 1933 as the wife of President Herbert Hoover. She was active in numerous community organizatio ...
, dedicated their English translation of the medieval mining classic '' De re metallica'' to Branner. The mineral, brannerite, a uranium ore mineral, was named in his honor. A species of crab found in California, ''Cancer branneri'' now ''
Romaleon branneri ''Romaleon'' is a genus of marine crabs formerly considered in the genus ''Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benig ...
'' commonly known as the furrowed rock crab, was named after him in 1926.


References


Research resources


John Casper Branner Presidential Papers, 1913-1917
(6.5 linear ft.) are housed in th

a
Stanford University Libraries


External links


Works by John Casper Branner on Brazilian ethnography
Curt Nimuendajú Digital Library
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir

John Casper Branner Papers
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Branner, John Casper American geologists Presidents of Stanford University Maryville College alumni Cornell University alumni Indiana University alumni Indiana University faculty People from New Market, Tennessee 1850 births 1922 deaths Presidents of the Geological Society of America American expatriates in Brazil Members of the American Philosophical Society