Parker Cleaveland (January 1, 1780 – August 15, 1858) 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, althoug ...

and

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

, born in

Rowley, Massachusetts Rowley is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,161 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley. History The area was inhabited by the Agawam people under sachem Ma ...

. He was identified with the early progress of the natural sciences. After having attending the Dummer Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, he graduated from Harvard in 1799, was tutor in mathematics there from 1803 to 1805, was chosen

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of mathematics and natural philosophy and lecturer on chemistry and mineralogy in Bowdoin College, a position which he retained until his death, although many professorships in other colleges and the presidency of his own were offered to him. He was elected an Associate Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1809 and 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 1818. He gathered a valuable collection of minerals and published a

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...

on ''Mineralogy and Geology'' (1816; third edition, 1856), which earned for him the title "Father of American Mineralogy." Peleg Chandler was his son-in-law and funded the renovation of Massachusetts Hall, Bowdoin College in 1872 after graduating from Bowdoin in 1834. *

References

External links

Biographical Archive
The Mineralogical Record.
Parker Cleaveland Collection
George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library.
Genealogy profile
Geni.com. 1780 births 1858 deaths American geologists American mineralogists American science writers Bowdoin College faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty People from Rowley, Massachusetts People from Brunswick, Maine The Governor's Academy alumni {{US-geologist-stub

See also

References

External links