Great Geologists | 57
James
Dwight
Dana
James Dwight Dana, painted
by Daniel Huntington in 1858.
The university training of a geologist often includes long hours spent with a hand lens or microscope, studying and
describing minerals and learning about their various crystal forms. This is usually undertaken with a key textbook
to hand, and for many American geologists, this will have been Dana’s Manual of Mineralogy. This classic was first
published in 1848 and is now in its 23 rd edition. A great book remains a great book! Its author, James Dwight Dana, is
widely regarded as the foremost American geologist of the second half of the 19th century. He pursued a geological
career that diversified far beyond mineralogy; indeed, he was also an outstanding zoologist and explorer with a wide
range of accomplishments to his name.
Dana was born in Utica, New York in 1813. From an early age, he enjoyed the outdoors and was fond of collecting
rocks, plants and insects. Therefore, it was not surprising that he selected scientific studies at Yale College (now Yale
University) in 1830. It was at Yale that he came under the influence of Benjamin Silliman. Silliman was a pioneering
chemist, scientific educator and founder of the American Journal of Science. He ensured that Dana received an
extensive scientific education and served as a mentor to him during his scientific career. In time, he also became Dana’s
father-in-law.