Maynard Bixby (June 28, 1853 – February 18, 1935) was an American

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

and

mineral collector Mineral collecting is the hobby of systematically collecting, identifying and displaying mineral specimens. Mineral collecting can also be a part of the profession of mineralogy and allied geologic specialties. Individual collectors often sp ...

Early life

Bixby was born in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania and graduated from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware R ...

in 1876. He worked for a time in

Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...

, where he was a bookkeeper and studied law. He then decided to travel the country and became involved in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

and

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 ...

Career

Bixby explored the Thomas Range in

Juab County, Utah Juab County ( ) is a county in western Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 10,246. Its county seat and largest city is Nephi. Juab County is part of the Provo– Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistica ...

for minerals and staked several claims for topaz. One, the Maynard's Claim, is still being mined for specimens. The mineral

bixbyite Bixbyite is a manganese iron oxide mineral with chemical formula: (Mn,Fe)2O3. The iron/manganese ratio is quite variable and many specimens have almost no iron. It is a metallic dark black with a Mohs hardness of 6.0 - 6.5. It is a somewhat rare ...

, which he discovered there, was named in his honor in 1897. The rare, red

beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several ...

also found there, originally named ''bixbite'' in his honor, was later renamed "red beryl" to avoid confusion with bixbyite. Bixby wrote articles for ''The Mineral Collector.'' In the December 1896 issue Bixby published his first ad, a full-page one, in which this text appeared:

For several years I have collected the very finest of the Utah minerals and have concluded to offer them direct to collectors at the following low prices ...

In 1902 he published the first edition of his authoritative ''A Catalogue of Utah Minerals and Localities'', and by 1916 had issued a fourth edition.

Death

Bixby died in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

.Mitchell, R. S. (1987). "Who's who in mineral names: John George Cowles and Maynard Bixby", ''Rocks & Minerals'', 62, 120-123.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bixby, Maynard 1853 births 1935 deaths People from Wyalusing, Pennsylvania American mineralogists Lafayette College alumni