Thomas Condon (1822–1907) was an Irish

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister,

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

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

who gained recognition for his work in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Life and career

Condon arrived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

from Ireland in 1833 and graduated from theological

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in 1852, after which he traveled to Oregon by ship. As a minister at

The Dalles The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...

, he became interested in the fossils he found in the area. He found fossil seashells on the Crooked River and fossil camels and other animals along the

John Day River The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. It is known as the Mah-Hah River by the Cayuse people, the original inhabitants of the region. Undammed along its entire ...

. Many of his discoveries were in the present-day

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. national monument in Wheeler and Grant counties in east-central Oregon. Located within the John Day River basin and managed by the National Park Service, the park is known for its well-preserved l ...

. He corresponded with noted scientists, including

Spencer Baird Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He eventually ...

of the Smithsonian, Edward Cope of the

Academy of Natural Sciences The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natura ...

Joseph Leidy Joseph Mellick Leidy (September 9, 1823 – April 30, 1891) was an American paleontologist, parasitologist and anatomist. Leidy was professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, later was a professor of natural history at Swarthmore ...

, O.C. Marsh, and

John C. Merriam John Campbell Merriam (October 20, 1869 – October 30, 1945) was an American paleontologist, educator, and conservationist. The first vertebrate paleontologist on the West Coast of the United States, he is best known for his taxonomy of ver ...

, and provided specimens to major museums. Condon was appointed the first State Geologist for Oregon in 1872. He resigned that post to become first professor of geology at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. Previously he was a teacher at

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. The university maintains three other campuses in Eugene, Hillsboro, and Wo ...

in Forest Grove. In ''The Two Islands and What Came of Them'', a geology book published in 1902, Condon wrote about two widely separated regions of Oregon that contain its oldest rocks, the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast ...

in the southwestern part of the state and the Blue Mountains in the northeast. The book attempted to summarize what was then known about the state's geology and to draw conclusions about its geologic past. Condon was an advocate of

theistic evolution Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...

. He has been described as a "Christian Darwinist".

Legacy

Condon Hall at the University of Oregon, which originally housed the geology department, was named for Condon, as were the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center at the Sheep Rock unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, near Kimberly, Oregon, temporary

Lake Condon Lake Condon was a temporary lake in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, formed periodically by the Missoula Floods from 15,000 to 13,000 BC. The restricted flow of waters from cataclysmic floods from Glacial Lake Missoula, and pluvial ...

, formed periodically by the

Missoula Floods The Missoula floods (also known as the Spokane floods or the Bretz floods or Bretz's floods) were cataclysmic glacial lake outburst floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the las ...

, and the Condon Fossil Collection of the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, which was founded by Condon in 1876. Condon Elementary School (1950-1983) in Eugene still stands as the University of Oregon's Agate Hall. He is the namesake of Condon Butte in Lane County.

Condon, Oregon Condon is a city in, and the seat of, Gilliam County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The population was 682 at the 2010 census. The city, with an historic main street along Oregon Route 19, is a farming and ranching community. The John Day River/ ...

, was named for Harvey C. Condon, a nephew of Thomas Condon. ''Anser condoni'' is a synonym for the fossil swan ''

Cygnus paloregonus ''Cygnus paloregonus'' is a fossil swan. It is an ancestor of, and distantly allied to, the mute swan. It is known from the Pleistocene from Fossil Lake, Oregon, Froman's Ferry, Idaho, and from Arizona. It is referred to by Hildegarde Howard ...

''.

References

Works cited

*Clark, Robert D. ''The Odyssey of Thomas Condon'' (1989). Portland, Oregon: The Oregon Historical Society Press. .

External links

Dr. Thomas Condon
from the Oregon Historical Society
Thomas Condon profile
from the

Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission The Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission (OCHC) is a non-profit organization based in the U.S. state of Oregon. The commission was formed in 1988 in order to discover and commemorate important literary and cultural contributions to Oregon's histor ...

Thomas Condon biography
from the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

''Thomas Condon: Of Faith and Fossils''
Documentary produced by

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF tra ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Condon, Thomas Irish emigrants to the United States Oregon pioneers 19th-century American geologists 1822 births 1907 deaths Pacific University faculty People from The Dalles, Oregon University of Oregon faculty Deaths from influenza Infectious disease deaths in Oregon People from Fermoy Theistic evolutionists Christian clergy from County Cork Scientists from County Cork

Life and career

Legacy

See also

References

Works cited

External links