Claude C. Albritton Jr. (1913–1988) was a geologist, professor, author and university administrator. He had an academic career at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

(SMU) where he retired as Warren B. Hamilton Professor of Geology.

Education and career

Albritton graduated from Southern Methodist University with AB, BS in 1933. He then went to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and earned the A.M. and PhD. (1936) where he was the Jay Backus Woodworth fellow. He joined the Department of Geology at Southern Methodist University in 1936. He took leave from the university during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to serve with the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

, Military Geology Branch and Strategic Minerals Branch from 1942 to 1949. Returning to SMU after the War he was promoted to professor and became Dean of the College Arts and Sciences, 1952–1957. He was named Warren B. Hamilton Professor of Geology in 1955. Other administrative positions Albritton held at SMU were director of the graduate research center from 1961 to 1964, director of the Scientific Information Institute, 1964–72, and Dean of libraries, 1973–78. As Dean of libraries and Vice Provost for Library Development he supported construction of the N.L. Heroy Science Hall and the Science Information Center and expansion of the SMU library system including DeGolyer Western Library. In 1966 Albritton co-founded the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man (ISEM) at SMU. He served as Senior scientist. He retired from teaching in 1979.

Awards and honors

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

*Archaeological Geology Division Award *''Memorial Issue.''1989. History of the Earth Sciences Society *Mary C. Rabbitt History and Philosophy of Geology Award 1983. *

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

. Finalist, 1981 for ''The Abyss of Time''. *Claude C. Albritton Jr. Award- established to honor the memory of Albritton, Fellow 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. Hi ...

and a founding member of the Geoarchaeology Division.Claude C. Albritton Award.
Geoarchaeology Division. Geological Society of America * A.S.W. Rosenbach Lectures in Bibliography. "Toward the Discovery of Time: Landmarks in Historical Geology." (1970).

Selected publications

* 1990. (with Brooks, James E., and others) "Origin of the Qattara Depression, Egypt." ''Geological Society of America Bulletin'' v. 102,: 952–960. * 1989. Albritton, Claude C. ''Catastrophic Episodes in Earth History.'' London: Chapman and Hall. * 1980. Albritton, Claude C. ''The Abyss of Time, Changing Conceptions of the Earth’s Antiquity After the Sixteenth Century.'' San Francisco, CA: Freeman, Cooper. * 1975. Albritton, Claude C., editor. ''Philosophy of Geohistory, 1785-1970''. . Stroudsburg, Pa: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross. * 1978. Albritton, Claude C, and Peter William Bretsky. ''History of Geology.'' New York: Arno Press. * 1967. Albritton, Claude C. editor, Geological Society of America, M. King Hubbert, Leonard G Wilson, Norman D Newell, and Nelson Goodman. 1967. ''Uniformity and Simplicity: A Symposium on the Principle of the Uniformity of Nature.'' New York: Geological Society of America. * 1963. Albritton, Claude C. editor, Geological Society of America. 1963. ''The Fabric of Geology.'' Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley. * 1955. Albritton, Claude C., Wendorf, Fred, and Krieger, A D. ''The Midland discovery—A report on the Pleistocene human remains from Midland, Texas.'' Austin, University of Texas Press. * 1942. Albritton, Claude C. "Dinosaur tracks near Comanche, Texas." ''Field and Laboratory,'' v. 10: 160–181. * 1943. Albritton, Claude C. and Bryan, Kirk. Soil phenomena as evidence of climatic changes: ''American Journal of Science'', v. 241, p. 469-490. * 1939. Albritton, Claude C. and Bryan, Kirk. "Quaternary stratigraphy in the Davis Mountains, Trans-Pecos Texas." ''Geological Society of America Bulletin'', v. 50, p. 1423-1474. * 1936. Albritton, Claude C. and Boon, J. D. "Meteorite craters and their possible relationship to cryptovolcanic structures." ''Field and Laboratory'' v. 5, p. 1-9.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albritton, Claude C. 1913 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American geologists Southern Methodist University alumni Harvard University alumni Southern Methodist University faculty United States Geological Survey personnel