Mark Jefferson (1863–1949) was the chief cartographer of the American Delegation to the
Paris Peace Conference in 1919. He was also the head of the geography department at Michigan State Normal College (MSNC), now
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...
(EMU), from 1901-1939.
Jefferson received his bachelor's degree from
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
and his master's degree from
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 ...
. From 1883-1889 he worked at an astronomical observatory in Argentina. From 1890-1901 he was a high school teacher in Massachusetts. In addition to teaching at MSNC he also taught at the Harvard Summer School. Among Jefferson's students were geographers
Isaiah Bowman
Isaiah Bowman, AB, Ph. D. (December 26, 1878, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada – January 6, 1950, Baltimore, Maryland), was an American geographer and President of the Johns Hopkins University, 1935–1948, controversial for his antisemitism and ...
and
Charles C. Colby.
In 1916 Jefferson served as president of the
American Association of Geographers
The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a non-profit scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields. Its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. The ...
.
A biography of Jefferson entitled ''Mark Jefferson: Geographer'' written by
Geoffrey J. Martin was published by Eastern Michigan University Press in 1968. EMU has a building named after Mark Jefferson.
Sources
CSISS article based on Jefferson's work*''Aurora'' (MSNC yearbook) 1918.
''Annals of the American Association of Geographers'' Vol. 39, no. 4
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Mark
1863 births
Boston University alumni
Harvard University alumni
Eastern Michigan University faculty
Harvard Summer School instructors
American geographers
1949 deaths
Presidents of the American Association of Geographers