Thomas Brennan Nolan (May 21, 1901 – August 2, 1992) 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, althou ...

who was director of the

United States 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, ...

(USGS) from 1956 to 1965. The mineral nolanite is named in his honor and he was an elected member 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, and ...

, the United States

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 ...

, and 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 ...

. He was generally known as Tom Nolan.

Early life

Nolan was born in

Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Val ...

in 1901. He was educated at

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

then studied Metallurgy at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, graduating with a BS in 1921. He continued studying at Yale and received a PhD in Geology in 1924. After training for the Civil Service he joined the US Geological Survey,

USGS career

After Director

William Embry Wrather William Embry Wrather (January 20, 1883 – November 28, 1963) was an American geologist. Biography He was born on a farm near Brandenburg in Meade County, Kentucky on January 20, 1883. He died in his home in Washington, DC on Thursday, Nove ...

retired because of illness and age in 1955, Assistant Director Thomas B. Nolan became the 's (USGS) seventh director in January 1956. During his 11 years as an Assistant Director, Nolan had many times and for extended periods served as an Acting Director so no transition period was needed. Nolan believed that geologists, because of the unique requirements imposed on them by their science, should expand their fields of interest from individual problems and "participate actively and authoritatively in the matters affecting the whole country." Until September 1965, when he resumed his research in

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

geology, Nolan pushed, prodded, and led the Survey to a broadened and intensified commitment to basic research, to the advancement of geology in the public service, and to the prompt publication of Survey results. As Assistant Director, he had also served as the Interior Department representative on the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific Research and Development, on the Scientific Advisory Committee on Specialized Personnel to the

Selective Service The Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent agency of the United States government that maintains information on U.S. citizens and other U.S. residents potentially subject to military conscription (i.e., the draft) and carries out contin ...

Committee, and on the Advisory Board on Education of the

, and had been 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 ...

and 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 ...

(1961). As Director, his professional responsibilities outside the Survey were still further extended to service as vice president and president of the Geological Society of America, as vice president of the International Union of Geological Sciences, and on committees advisory to university geology departments. In 1956, the Geological Survey began an evaluation of the effects of underground nuclear explosions at the Atomic Energy Commission's Nevada Test Site; that program was expanded to study the geologic and hydrologic conditions affecting the peaceful uses of atomic energy and the disposal of radioactive wastes. In December 1958, Director Nolan, speaking at the meeting 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 ...

, remarked that the early work of the Geological Survey had been characterized by a transition from exploration of a geographical to an intellectual frontier, but demands by younger scientists for studies of the geography of outer space might soon inaugurate a new cycle in the history of the US Geological Survey. In 1959, the Survey compiled a photogeologic map of the Earth's satellite, the Moon, and began studies of

tektites Tektites (from grc, τηκτός , meaning 'molten') are gravel-sized bodies composed of black, green, brown or grey natural glass formed from terrestrial debris ejected during meteorite impacts. The term was coined by Austrian geologist Franz ...

and

impact craters An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...

. On May 25, 1961, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

proposed as a goal "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth" before the end of the decade, and in 1963, the US Geological Survey, in cooperation with the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

, began to train astronauts in geology and to investigate and evaluate methods and equipment for geological and geophysical exploration of the Moon. He died in

Washington D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

on August 2, 1992.

Family

He was married to Mabel ("Pete") Orleman (d.1983). They had one son.

Publications

* Nolan, Thomas B. "Late Paleozoic positive area in Nevada". American Journal of Science, vol.16, no.92, pp. 153–161, Aug 1928 * Nolan, T B. "Potash brines in the Great Salt Lake Desert, Utah". USGS Bulletin 0795-B, pp. 25–44, 1928 * Nolan, Thomas B. "Report on El Guineo and Matrullas dam sites, Toro Negro Project, Porto Rico". USGS Open-File Report No. 559 (1928) * Nolan, Thomas B. "Gold Hill mining district, Utah", USGS Professional Paper No. 177 (1935) * Nolan, Thomas Brennan and Johnston, W.D.Jr. "Methods of constructing block diagrams for use in mining geology". Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 194–195, Mar 1937 * Nolan, Thomas Brennan.
The Basin and Range province in Utah, Nevada, and California
. USGS Professional Paper 197-D. (1942). * Nolan, Thomas Brennan "The search for new mining districts". Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists, vol.45, no.7, pp. 601–608, Nov 1950 * Nolan, Thomas B. Merriam, C. W., Williams, J. S.
Stratigraphic section in the vicinity of Eureka, Nevada
. USGS Professional Paper No. 276 (1956) * Miesch, Alfred T. and Nolan, Thomas B.
Geochemical prospecting studies in the Bullwhacker mine area, Eureka district, Nevada
. USGS Bulletin 1000-H (1958) * Nolan, Thomas Brennan. "The place of geology in the development of the mining industry". Mines Magazine, vol.50, no.2, pp. 20–22, 1960 * Nolan, Thomas B.
The Eureka mining district, Nevada
. USGS Professional Paper No. 406 (1962)

References

Additional sources

U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior * Robinson, S.C., Evans, H.T., Jr., Schaller, W.T. and Fahey, J.J. (1957) Nolanite, a new iron-vanadium mineral from Beaverlodge, Saskatchewan. American Mineralogist, 42, 619–628. * Stewart, David B. "Memorial of Thomas Brennan Nolan, 1901-1992". American Mineralogist, vol.79, no.5-6, pp. 575–576, Jun 1994

External links

Portrait of Thomas Brennan Nolan
via 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, an ...

Photograph of Thomas Brennan Nolan
via the US Geological Survey

mineralogical information