Louis Caryl Graton (1880–1970), 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, althoug ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

and educator, began his career in 1900 as assayer for Ledyard Gold Mines Ltd., near Rockdale, Ontario. He moved on to Canadian Goldfields Ltd. later in 1900, then entered

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

as a graduate student, studying many of the famous mines of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. He continued his studies at

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 tea ...

in 1902–1903. In 1903, Graton was hired by

Waldemar Lindgren Waldemar Lindgren (February 14, 1860 – November 3, 1939) was a Swedish-American geologist. Lindgren was one of the founders of modern economic geology. Biography Waldemar Lindgren was born in Vassmolösa, Kalmar Municipality, in the historica ...

of the

US Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

to assist Lindgren's restudy of the

Cripple Creek, Colorado Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States Census. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Sprin ...

goldfields. This began an association that lasted until Lindgren's death in 1939. While at the USGS, he studied ore deposits in the southern

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. In 1909, Graton was appointed assistant professor of

mining geology Mining geology is an applied science which combines the principles of economic geology and mining engineering to the development of a defined mineral resource. Mining geologists and engineers work to develop an identified ore deposit to economica ...

at Harvard; he advanced to full professor in 1912, a position he would hold for 37 years. Graton made important contributions in applying the science of geology to the practical job of finding ore. He was notably successful in "selling" geology to the mining industry, in an era when many companies doubted the value of employing mining geologists. He became professor emeritus in 1949. Graton began a long association as a consultant for the Cerro Corporation (then the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corp.) in 1920. He was an active consultant until 1950. From 1945 to 1967 he served on the Cerro Board of Directors. For Cerro and other industrial clients, he set up modern geological departments and trained staff geologists to high professional standards. L. C. Graton occupied a pre-eminent position in economic geology for half a century. He was president of the

Society of Economic Geologists The Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) is a scientific organization that promotes the study of geology as it relates to mining, mineral exploration, mineral resource classification and mineral extraction. The society's Publication Board publishe ...

in 1931 (winning its Penrose Gold Medal in 1950), among many other awards and honors. He left a significant legacy of scientific papers and reviews. His bibliography is included in the Graton-Sales memorial volume, cited below.

References

* "Louis Caryl Graton" in Ore Deposits of the United States, 1933–67, the Graton-Sales volume, New York, AIME, 1968. LC Catalog # 68-24170. Includes bibliography. * ''Contributions to economic geology, 1909, Part I, Metals and nonmetals except fuels--Copper,''

Bulletin No. 430-B (1910) * ''Reconnaissance of some gold and tin deposits of the southern Appalachians, with notes on the Dahlonega mines'' with

Bulletin No. 293 (1906) * ''The ore deposits of New Mexico'' with

and C.H. Gordon,

Professional Paper No. 68 (1910)

External links

*
Memorial by CS Hurlbut Jr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graton, L.C. 1880 births 1970 deaths 20th-century American chemists 20th-century American educators 20th-century American geologists Cornell University alumni McGill University alumni Harvard University faculty United States Geological Survey personnel Economic geologists

See also

References

External links