William Berryman Scott (February 12, 1858 – March 29, 1947) was an American

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with ...

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 ...

, authority on mammals, and principal author of the White River

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...

monographs. He was a professor of geology and paleontology at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

Family and education

Scott was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, on February 12, 1858, the son of Mary Elizabeth Hodge Scott and William McKendree Scott, a Presbyterian minister. He was the youngest of three sons; his brother Hugh Lenox Scott went on to become superintendent of West Point and Army Chief of Staff. Shortly after the family moved to Princeton, New Jersey in 1861, his father died and the family lived with his maternal grandfather who was also a Presbyterian minister and an instructor at the Princeton Theological Seminary.American National Biography 1999Sterling 1997 His early education focused on theology, philosophy and the classics in preparation for an expected career as a minister. However, when he entered Princeton University in 1873 at the age of fifteen, he became interested in science, especially geology, psychology, and chemistry.Simpson 1948 A course he took from the renowned Swiss geologist

Arnold Guyot Arnold Henry Guyot ( ) (September 28, 1807February 8, 1884) was a Swiss-American geologist and geographer. Early life Guyot was born on September 28, 1807, at Boudevilliers, near Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He was educated at Chaux-de-Fonds, then ...

was a turning point in his career aspirations. He graduated from Princeton in 1877 and received a Ph.D. from

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

in 1880. He married Alice Adeline Post on December 15, 1883. He was elected as a member of 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 1886.

Career

Scott 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 1925.Eckel, Edwin, 1982, GSA Memoir 155, The Geological Society of America — Life History of a Learned Society: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Memoir 155, 168 p., .

Awards

Scott received numerous professional awards during his long career: * 1910

Wollaston Medal The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of gold (1831–1845), ...

from the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. * 1930

Mary Clark Thompson Medal The Mary Clark Thompson Medalis awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for most important service to geology and paleontology." Named after Mary Clark Thompson and first awarded in 1921, it was originally presented every three years toget ...

from the

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 Nat ...

. * 1939

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 ...

from 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 ...

. * 1940

Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal The Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for meritorious work in zoology or paleontology study published in a three- to five-year period." Named after Daniel Giraud Elliot, it was first awarded in 1917. L ...

from the National Academy of Sciences.

Legacy

The pike cichlid fish '' Crenicichla scottii'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1907 was named in his honor.

Publications

*Scott, William Berryman, 1858 ''The Osteology and Relations of Protoceras.'' Boston, Ginn & company, 1895. 1 p.l., 03��374. 3 pl. (2 fold.) diagr. 26 cm. *Scott, William Berryman
''American Elephant Myths''
''Scribner's'', April 1887, 469–478.
''Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896–1899'' Princeton, The University, 1901–32 (v. 1, 1903)
8 v. in 13. illus. (part col.) maps (part fold., part col.) tables. 34 cm. *Scott, William Berryman. ''Geological Climates'', by W.B. Scott. *Scott, William Berryman. ''A History of Land Mammals in the Western Hemisphere.'' Illustrated with 32 plates and more than 100 drawings, by Bruce Horsfall. New York, The MacMillan Company, 1913. *Scott, William Berryman
''The Theory of Evolution, With Special Reference to the Evidence Upon Which it is Founded''
The Macmillan Company, 1920. *Scott, William Berryman. ''Some memories of a palaeontologist.'' Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1939. 4 p.l., 336 p. front. (port.) 24 cm.

References

* * *
Yale Peabody Museum: History and Archives: William Berryman Scott

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, William Berryman 1858 births 1947 deaths American paleontologists Heidelberg University alumni Penrose Medal winners Presidents of the Geological Society of America Princeton University alumni Scientists from Cincinnati Wollaston Medal winners Members of the American Philosophical Society