Marshman Edward Wadsworth (May 6, 1847 – April 21, 1921) was an American geologist and educator. He served as the first president of Michigan Technological University and was

State Geologist of Michigan The Michigan Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the U.S. state of Michigan. The survey is headed by the State Geologist of Michigan. The survey has been composed of three individual surveys: the first from 1837 through 1845, the second fr ...

from 1888 through 1893.

Biography

Wadsworth was born on May 6, 1847, in East Livermore, Maine, and spent on his childhood on the family farm. He enrolled at Bowdoin College in 1865 and graduated in 1869, after which he taught for four years in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In 1872, he received his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

from Bowdoin. In 1873, he was elected Professor of Chemistry at Boston Dental College and he enrolled at

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 high ...

for graduate studies. He resigned from Boston Dental College in 1874 and became an instructor of mathematics and mineralogy at Harvard. Wadsworth received a Master of Arts in 1874 from Harvard, and over the summer of 1874, he worked on a

geological survey A geological survey is the systematic investigation of the geology beneath a given piece of ground for the purpose of creating a geological map or model. Geological surveying employs techniques from the traditional walk-over survey, studying outc ...

of New Hampshire. Wadsworth resigned from his instructorship in 1877 and earned his Ph.D. in 1879 from Harvard. Wadsworth Hall

In 1885, Wadsworth was elected Professor of Mineralogy and Geology at

Colby University Colby College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the ...

which he held for two years. From 1886 to 1887, he worked as assistant geologist for the

Minnesota Geological Survey The Minnesota Geological Survey is a unit of the Newton Horace Winchell School of Earth Sciences at the University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or ...

. Wadsworth served as the first president of Michigan Technological University (then the Michigan Mining School) from 1887 through 1898. Wadsworth Hall, one of the residence halls on Michigan Tech's campus, was named in his honor. Wadsworth was appointed

in May 1888 following the death of State Geologist Charles E. Wright in March. Arrangements were made so that Wadsworth could continue as president while serving as State Geologist. During his tenure, Wadsworth worked to better organize the Michigan Geological Survey. He secured official offices for the survey, as previously the only offices were private or in the homes of geologists. The supervisory Board of Geological Survey of 1891 to 1892 recommended changes to the survey, including hiring geologists who were independent of state universities and who could dedicate the whole of their time to the survey. In 1893, Wadsworth became aware of these intentions, and offered to resign from the Michigan Mining School if he were given a raise to $4000 per year. His offer was rejected and Wadsworth resigned. In 1895, Wadsworth devised and instituted an extensive system of

elective course In higher education a course is a unit of teaching that typically lasts one academic term, is led by one or more instructors (teachers or professors), and has a fixed roster of students. A course usually covers an individual subject. Courses gener ...

s for the Michigan Mining School, a first for an engineering school in the United States. According to Wadsworth, despite the popularity and effectiveness of an elective system in other fields of study, a fixed system was very common for engineering and technical education. Wadsworth was a Fellow of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

and a member 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. Hitch ...

American Society of Naturalists The American Society of Naturalists was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest professional societies dedicated to the biological sciences in North America. The purpose of the Society is "to advance and diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and o ...

American Institute of Mining Engineers The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) is a professional association for mining and metallurgy, with over 145,000 members. It was founded in 1871 by 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Uni ...

, and the

Boston Society of Natural History The Boston Society of Natural History (1830–1948) in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the s ...

. He died on April 21, 1921, at his home in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

Publications

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Notes

Footnotes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadsworth, Marshman Edward 1847 births 1921 deaths People from Livermore Falls, Maine Bowdoin College alumni Colby College faculty Harvard University alumni Presidents of Michigan Technological University Writers from Maine