Joseph Le Conte (alternative spelling: Joseph LeConte) (February 26, 1823 – July 6, 1901) was a physician,
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 ...
, professor at the
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 ...
and early California conservationist.
Early life
Of
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
descent, he was born in
Liberty County,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, to Louis Le Conte, patriarch of the noted
LeConte family, and Ann Quarterman.
He was educated at Franklin College in
Athens, Georgia
Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...
(now the
Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest college of the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia. Established in 1801 following the American Revolution, the college was named in honor of American Founding Father B ...
at the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
), where he was a member of the
Phi Kappa Literary Society
The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Founded in 1820, the society continues to meet every academic ...
. After graduation in 1841, he studied medicine and received his degree at the
New York College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded ...
in 1845.
(In 1844 he travelled with his cousin
John Lawrence LeConte
John Lawrence LeConte (May 13, 1825 – November 15, 1883) was an American entomologist of the 19th century, responsible for naming and describing approximately half of the insect taxa known in the United States during his lifetime, for over one thousand miles along the
Upper Mississippi River
The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, at the confluence of its main tributary, the Missouri River.
History
In terms of geologic and hydrographic history, the Upper ...
in a birchbark canoe.
[) After practising for three or four years in ]Macon, Georgia
Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...
, he entered Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and studied natural history under Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history.
Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...
. An excursion made with Professors J. Hall and Agassiz to the Helderberg
Helderberg refers to a planning district of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, the mountain after which it is named, a wine-producing area in the Western Cape province of South Africa, or a small census area in Somerset West.
Or ...
mountains of 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
* '' ...
developed a keen interest in geology.
Career
After graduating from Harvard, Le Conte in 1851 accompanied Agassiz on an expedition to study the Florida Reef
The Florida Reef (also known as the Great Florida Reef, Florida reefs, Florida Reef Tract and Florida Keys Reef Tract) is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States. It is the third largest coral barrier reef system in ...
. On his return he became professor of natural science at Oglethorpe University
Oglethorpe University is a private college in Brookhaven, Georgia. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of Georgia.
History
Oglethorpe University was chartered in 1834 in Mid ...
, which was located in Midway, Georgia
Midway is a city in Liberty County, Georgia, United States. It is a part of the Hinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan statistical area. The population was 2,121 as of the 2010 census, up from 1,100 at the 2000 census.
Midway has several museums, ...
, at the time, and from December 1852 until 1856 professor of natural history and geology at Franklin College (the sole college at the University of Georgia at that time). From 1857 to 1869 he was a professor of chemistry and geology at South Carolina College, which is now the University of South Carolina.
On January 14, 1846, he married Caroline Nisbet, a niece of Eugenius A. Nisbet. The Le Conte(s) had four children grow to adulthood: Emma Florence Le Conte, Sarah Elizabeth Le Conte, Caroline Eaton Le Conte, and Joseph Nisbet Le Conte
Joseph Nisbet LeConte (February 7, 1870 – February 1, 1950) was a noted explorer of the Sierra Nevada. He was also a cartographer, a photographer and a professor of mechanical engineering.
Early life
Joseph Nisbet LeConte was born in Oakland, ...
.
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 ...
Le Conte continued to teach in South Carolina. He also produced medicine and was involved in research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
operations of the Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
Nitre and Mining Bureau The Confederate Nitre and Mining Bureau was a civilian government bureau to provide the Confederate States of America with needed materials such as copper, iron, lead, saltpeter, sulfur, zinc, and other metals. The Bureau oversaw civilian contracts ...
, associated with the Confederate Secret Service
The Confederate Secret Service refers to any of a number of official and semi-official secret service organizations and operations conducted by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Some of the organizations were under t ...
. In his autobiography he wrote that he found Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
intolerable. He referred to "a carpet-bag governor, scalawag
In United States history, the term scalawag (sometimes spelled scallawag or scallywag) referred to white Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies and efforts after the conclusion of the American Civil War.
As with the term '' carpetb ...
officials, and a negro legislature controlled by rascals" and stated that the " sudden enfranchisement of the negro without qualification was the greatest political crime ever perpetrated by any people".
Discouraged by unsettled postwar conditions at the University of South Carolina, in 1868 he accepted an offer of a professorship at the newly established 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, ...
. In September 1869, he moved west to Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
. His older brother John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
had come to California in April 1869, also to join the faculty of the new university as a professor of physics. Joseph was appointed the first professor of geology and natural history and botany at the university, a post which he held until his death.
He was elected as a member of 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 1873.
He published a series of papers on monocular
A monocular is a compact refracting telescope used to magnify images of distant objects, typically using an optical prism to ensure an erect image, instead of using relay lenses like most telescopic sights. The volume and weight of a monocul ...
and binocular vision
In biology, binocular vision is a type of vision in which an animal has two eyes capable of facing the same direction to perceive a single three-dimensional image of its surroundings. Binocular vision does not typically refer to vision where an ...
, and also on psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
. His chief contributions, however, related to geology. He described the fissure-eruptions in western America, discoursed on earth-crust movements and their causes and on the great features of the Earth's surface. As separate works he published ''Elements of Geology'' (1878, 5th ed. 1889); ''Religion and Science'' (1874); and ''Evolution and its Relation to Religious Thought'' (1888). This last work anticipates in structure and argument Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ( (); 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and ...
's "Phenomenon of Man".(1955). LeConte endorsed theistic evolution
Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...
.
Legacy
In 1874, he was nominated to 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 ...
. He was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
in 1892, and 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 1896. Le Conte is also noted for his exploration and preservation of the Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
of 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 ...
, United States. He first visited Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surroun ...
in 1870, where he became friends with John Muir
John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...
and started exploring the Sierra. He became concerned that resource exploitation (such as sheepherding) would ruin the Sierra, so he co-founded the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
with Muir and others in 1892. He was a director of the Sierra Club from 1892 through 1898. His son, Joseph Nisbet LeConte, was also a noted professor and Sierra Club member.
He died of a heart attack in Yosemite Valley, California, on July 6, 1901, right before the Sierra Club's first High Trip. The Sierra Club built the LeConte Memorial Lodge The LeConte Memorial Lodge, now known as the Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center, is a structure in Yosemite National Park in California, United States. LeConte is spelled variously as Le Conte or as Leconte. Built in 1903 by the Sierra Club, it ...
in his honor in 1904. The Le Conte Glacier, Le Conte Canyon, Le Conte Divide, Le Conte Falls, Le Conte Mountain
Le Conte Mountain is a summit located on the shared boundary of Skagit County and Chelan County in Washington state.
It is positioned on the crest of the North Cascades Range, and is set within the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Le Conte Mount ...
and Mount Le Conte were named after him. LeConte Hall, which houses the Department of History at the University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
, was named for him and his brother. LeConte College, which houses the Department of Mathematics and Statistics near the Horseshoe at the University of South Carolina, Le Conte Middle School in Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, and Le Conte Avenue in Berkeley also honor the two brothers, both of whom are buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
.
The elementary school at 2241 Russell Street in Berkeley was named for Joseph LeConte from 1892 until 2018, when it was renamed due to concerns regarding his views on race.
Another building at UC Berkeley was also renamed, as announced on July 7, 2020, due to the LeConte brothers' support of white supremacy and vigorous white supremacy writings in that regard.
See also
* Neo-Lamarckism
Lamarckism, also known as Lamarckian inheritance or neo-Lamarckism, is the notion that an organism can pass on to its offspring physical characteristics that the parent organism acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime. It is also calle ...
References
External links
*
LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite Valley, a national historic landmark
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:LeConte, Joseph
1823 births
1901 deaths
Sierra Club directors
American geologists
Sierra Nevada (United States)
Harvard University alumni
University of California, Berkeley faculty
University of Georgia alumni
University of Georgia faculty
Oglethorpe University faculty
University of South Carolina faculty
History of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
People from Macon, Georgia
People from Liberty County, Georgia
Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California)
Theistic evolutionists
Presidents of the Geological Society of America