Waldemar Lindgren (February 14, 1860 – November 3, 1939) was a

Swedish-American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. Today, ...

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 ...

. Lindgren was one of the founders of modern

economic geology Economic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be used for economic and/or industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals and construction-grade stone. Economic geology is a subdisciplin ...

Biography

Waldemar Lindgren was born in Vassmolösa,

Kalmar Municipality Kalmar Municipality (''Kalmar kommun'') is a municipality in Kalmar County, southeastern Sweden. The city of Kalmar is the municipal seat. The present municipality was created in 1971, when the ''City of Kalmar'' was amalgamated with five surroun ...

, in the historical province of

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

in southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the son of Johan and Emma Lindgren. Lindgren's father was a judge and member of parliament, his mother the daughter of a clergyman. Lindgren attended the Freiberg Mining Academy,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, graduating as a

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

in 1882. In 1884, he began a 31-year career with the

U.S. 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, and ...

, working on ore deposits in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. In 1905, he helped found the journal

Economic Geology Economic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be used for economic and/or industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals and construction-grade stone. Economic geology is a subdisciplin ...

. In 1912, he was appointed head of the Department of Geology at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. Lindgren was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

in 1931. Lindgren was a fellow of the

Mineralogical Society of America The Mineralogical Society of America (MSA) is a scientific membership organization. MSA was founded in 1919 for the advancement of mineralogy, crystallography, geochemistry, and petrology, and promotion of their uses in other sciences, industry, ...

. He has served as President 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. Hitchco ...

in 1924 (winning its

Penrose Medal The Penrose Medal was created in 1925 by R.A.F. Penrose, Jr., as the top prize awarded by the Geological Society of America. Originally created as the Geological Society of America Medal it was soon renamed the Penrose Medal by popular assent of t ...

in 1933) and 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 ...

(winning its

Penrose Gold Medal The R.A.F. Penrose Gold Medal was established in 1923 and is awarded by the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) to recognize a full career in the performance of "unusually original work in the earth sciences". The medal was donated by American ge ...

in 1928). Lindgren's published writings run to nearly 200 titles, not counting discussions, reviews, and more than 1,000 abstracts. Most of his publications are on the great ore deposits. Editions of ''Mineral Deposits'', his widely used textbook were published in 1913, 1919, 1928 and 1933. He died in 1939 in Brighton, Mass.

Notable publications

*''The Gold Belt of the Blue Mountains of Oregon'' Extract from the 22nd Annual Report (1900-1901) Part 2: Ore Deposits (U.S. Geological Survey. 1902. pages 553–776) *
The water resources of Molokai, Hawaiian Islands
' (US Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper No. 77. 1903. 62 pages) *
The copper deposits of the Clifton-Morenci district, Arizona
' (US Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 43. 1905. 375 pages) *
Geology and gold deposits of the Cripple Creek District, Colorado
'. (Lindgren, W., & Ransome, F. L. US Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 54. 1906. 516 pages) *
The ore deposits of New Mexico
' (Lindgren, W., Graton, L. C., Schrader, F. C., & Hill, J. M. US Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 68 1910. 361 pages) *
The Tertiary Gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California
' (US Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 73. 1911. 226 pages) *
Mineral Deposits
' (New York, McGraw-Hill. 1913)

References

External links

*
Memorial from American Mineralogist

Brief bio, National Mining Hall of Fame

* , from SEG Newsletter, accessed 1/17/08 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindgren, Waldemar 1860 births 1939 deaths People from Kalmar Municipality American geologists Wollaston Medal winners Penrose Medal winners Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences United States Geological Survey personnel Swedish emigrants to the United States Economic geologists Presidents of the Geological Society of America Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences