William A. Libbey III (March 27, 1855 – September 6, 1927) was an American professor of

physical geography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere ...

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 ...

. He was twice a member of the U.S. Olympic Rifle Team, and rose to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in the

New Jersey National Guard The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers. The New Jersey Army National Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germ ...

. He is also known for his first ascent of

Mount Princeton Mount Princeton is a high and prominent mountain summit of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located in San Isabel National Forest, southwest ( bearing 225°) of the Town o ...

in 1877. He also competed at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, b ...

Biography

Early life

He was born in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark."Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Department of " Princeton University
/ref> As an undergraduate at Princeton Libbey was responsible for the adoption of orange and black as the school colors. During his freshman year he wore a tie, on a dare from classmate Melanchthon Jacobus, with the colors of

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic f ...

, Prince of Orange-Nassau, after whom Nassau Street had been named in 1724, and later

Nassau Hall Nassau Hall, colloquially known as Old Nassau, is the oldest building at Princeton University in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. In 1783 it served as the United States Capitol building for four months. At the time it was built ...

in 1756. The next year he arranged for the manufacture of 1,000 yards of orange and black ribbon and proceeded to sell it, from the Grand Union Hotel, at an intercollegiate regatta in

Saratoga, New York } Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,141 at the 2000 census. It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous city, Saratoga Springs. The major vill ...

as "Princeton's colors." After the Princeton crew team won, he sold out and orange and black have been Princeton's definitive colors ever since.

Professor

Libbey graduated from Princeton in 1877 and that summer went on the Princeton scientific expedition to the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. It was there that on the afternoon of July 17, 1877, at 12:30 pm he reached the summit of Mount Princeton. Following his summer in the West, Libbey studied in Berlin and Paris. Libbey returned and received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in geology in 1879, the first awarded by Princeton. In 1880 he was appointed as director of the Elizabeth Marsh Museum of Geology and Archaeology as well as an associate professor to teach physical geography. In 1883 he was appointed as a full professor and continued to teach the physical geography classes. In 1897 Libbey was involved with the controversy concerning whether the Acoma people had once lived on

Enchanted Mesa Enchanted Mesa is a sandstone butte in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States, about northeast of the pueblo of Acoma. It is called Mesa Encantada in Spanish and Katzimo or Kadzima in Keresan. Acoma tradition says that Enchanted Mesa was ...

. After great exertion, he spent a couple of hours on the mesa top and concluded that nothing was there and that it had never been occupied. Subsequent work by archaeologists have shown that Libbey's conclusion was hasty.Simmons, Marc (20 May 2006) "Trail dust: The Enchanted Mesa: myth or true tale?" ''The Santa Fe New Mexican''
At the

he won the silver medal as a member of the American team in the team running deer, single shots competition."William Libbey" profile Olympics database
Libbey died in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of w ...

References

External links

"William Libbey and the 1877 Expedition" ''Princeton Alumni Weekly'' Princeton University

"William Libbey Correspondence, 1876-1925" Princeton University
profile

listed correspondents * {{DEFAULTSORT:Libbey, William 1855 births 1927 deaths Sportspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey American mountain climbers American male sport shooters Running target shooters American geographers American geologists American archaeologists Olympic silver medalists for the United States in shooting Shooters at the 1912 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Princeton University faculty Princeton University alumni Presidents of the National Rifle Association