William J. "Bill" Breed (August 3, 1928 - January 22, 2013) 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 ...

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 ...

, naturalist and author in Northern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. He was a renowned expert on the geology of the Grand Canyon.''Arizona Daily Sun'', January 24, 2013, A2
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Personal life

William J. Breed was born August 3, 1928, in Massillon, Ohio, son of Grace Amelia (née Snyder) and Earl Fremont Breed. After graduating from

Massillon Washington High School Washington High School, commonly referred to as Massillon High School or Massillon Washington High School, is a 9th to 12th grade secondary school within the Massillon City School District in the city of Massillon, Ohio, United States. The schoo ...

, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Military Police in South Korea and Japan (1946–48). He received his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

, then his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

and

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

from

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, finishing in 1960. He married Carol S. Breed daughter of

James Neilson (director) James William Neilson (October 1, 1909December 9, 1979) was an American television director, known for his stage and film direction as well as his work with '' Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color''. Directing James W. Neilson was born in Shr ...

and Mrs. Ruth Swope (née Rogers) in 1965. The couple had one daughter, Amelia, who joined the family of four girls (Linda, Laura, Grace, Pamela) from Carol's first marriage.

Career

Bill Breed was a Fulbright Scholar at

Canterbury University The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand to study geomorphology in 1957–58.''Canton Repository'', March 12, 1957 Bill Breed was a protégé of Edwin D. McKee. Breed was Curator of Geology (1960–78), Head, Geology Department (1978–81) at the

Museum of Northern Arizona The Museum of Northern Arizona is a museum in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States, that was established as a repository for Indigenous material and natural history specimens from the Colorado Plateau. The museum was founded in 1928 by zoologist ...

in Flagstaff, Arizona. In 1969, Breed and Edwin H. Colbert were two of the four vertebrate paleontologists in Antarctica who helped solidify the acceptance of

continental drift Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. The idea of continental drift has been subsumed into the science of pl ...

theory, by finding a 220-million-year-old fossil of a ''

Lystrosaurus ''Lystrosaurus'' (; 'shovel lizard'; proper Greek is λίστρον ''lístron'' ‘tool for leveling or smoothing, shovel, spade, hoe’) is an extinct genus of herbivorous dicynodont therapsids from the late Permian and Early Triassic epochs ( ...

''. In the 1970s, Breed completed numerous publications on the Grand Canyon, including a geologic cross section map of the Grand Canyon, San Francisco Peaks and Verde Valley; and the book, ''Geology of the Grand Canyon''. A species of ''

Dilophosaurus ''Dilophosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 193 million years ago. Three skeletons were discovered in northern Arizona in 1940, and the two best preserve ...

, (D. breedorum)'', discovered by Sam Welles in Arizona in 1964 was named after William J. Breed and his wife at the time Carol S. Breed. This name came out in a private publication distributed by Pickering, but has not been accepted in other reviews of the genus. After leaving the

in 1981, Breed became a naturalist guide for Nature Expeditions International and Betchart Expeditions leading trips to Alaska, New Zealand, Galapagos,

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, and Australia. He became Curator Emeritus of the Museum of Northern Arizona in 2004. In January 2013, shortly before his death, Breed was named a Distinguished Fellow of the Museum of Northern Arizona. Breed was an active environmentalist with

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. ...

"My Favorite Mistake"
''Newsweek'' and many others.

Awards

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

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 ...

, the A.A.A.S, the Arizona Academy of Science, and the

.Museum of Northern Arizona Archive

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

- Antarctic Service Medal (1977)

- Gladys Cole Award (1982)
Distinguished Citizen Award from

in 2005.

Publications

Breed wrote or contributed to more than 80 scientific publications and popular magazines. *1964: "Metacoceras bowmani, a new species of Nautiloid from the Toroweap Formation (Permian) of Arizona," ''

Journal of Paleontology The ''Journal of Paleontology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the field of paleontology. It is published by the Paleontological Society. Indexing The ''Journal of Paleontology'' is indexed in: *BIOSIS Previews *Science Citation ...

''; v.38, No.5, pp 877–880 (with Halsey W. Miller Jr) *1965: "An exotic occurrence of fresh water drum fish," ''

Plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

'' v. 37, No.3, p. 5. *1967: "Evolution of the Colorado River in Arizona" 'Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin' #44, pp 67 (with Edwin D. McKee, R.F. Wilson, and Carol S. Breed.) *1969: "A Pliocene river channel near Doney Crater, Arizona" ''Journal of Arizona Academy of Sciences'', vol. 5, No.3, pp. 177–181. *1969: "The Chuar Group of the Grand Canyon, Arizona." ''Geological Society of America Rocky Mountain Section, Abstracts with Programs,'' May 7–11, 1969, pp. 23–24. (with Trevor D. Ford) *1970: "Hopi Pahos at the South Pole" ''Plateau'' V. 42, No. 4, pp. 125 *1970: "Triassic Tetrapods from Antarctica: Evidence of Continental Drift" ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

'' V. 169, No. 3951, pp. 1197–1201 (with David H Elliot, Edwin H. Colbert, James Jensen and Jon S. Powell) *1971: "Last Chance for Rainbow Bridge?" ''Outdoor Arizona'', pp. 38–41 *1974: ''Geology of the Grand Canyon'', by William J. Breed and Evelyn C. Roat *1974: "Red Mountain, Erosion or Explosion," ''Plateau'', Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 120–122. *1975: ''Geologic Cross Section of the Grand Canyon - San Francisco Peaks - Verde Valley Region'' Zion Natural History Association, Springdale, Utah *1976: "Our "Unchanging" Grand Canyon", ''

Arizona Highways ''Arizona Highways'' is a magazine that contains travelogues and artistic photographs related to the U.S. state of Arizona. It is published monthly in Phoenix by a unit of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Background The m ...

'', Vol. 52, No. 5, p. 12-15. *1977: "Chitinozoans from the Late Precambrian Chuar Group of the Grand Canyon, Arizona" ''

'', Vol. 195, No. 4279, pp. 676–679 (with Bonnie Bloeser, Wiliam J. Schopf and Robert J. Horodyski)

References

External links and references

* ''Arizona Daily Sun'', January 24, 2013, A2 http://azdailysun.com/news/local/obituaries/william-breed-renowned-mna-geologist-dies-in-flagstaff/article_41857e06-1387-53d0-bf6f-f3c469222f65.html *''Newsweek''
My Favorite Mistake
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breed, William J. 1928 births 2013 deaths Denison University alumni American paleontologists American geologists University of Arizona alumni People from Massillon, Ohio Writers from Tucson, Arizona People from Flagstaff, Arizona Fellows of the Geological Society of America American expatriates in Japan American expatriates in South Korea