Biographical Memoir of John Wesley Powell, 1834-1902
William Morris Davis
Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont
This is Volume VIII of the National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs series. It is read as 33 sections using the memoir headings. John Wesley Powell (1834-1902) was a leading figure in the geological explorations of the West and helped establish the federal U.S. Geological Survey in 1879. He also led the Bureau of Ethnology and advocated for better treatment and study of Native American tribes and culture. He wrote a definitive study of the arid western U.S., advocating for thoughtful irrigation and land management practices. Powell predicted that water rights purchased by corporations, rather than tied to the land, would be a major political and environmental issue. John Wesley Powell was a scientific frontiersman. His life reveals the energetic working of a vigorous and independent personality, full of inspiration, power, and enterprise. He was a founder of major scientific organizations, including the National Geographic Society, Geological Society of America, and the Cosmos Club. Powell lived most of his life in Washington, DC. The memoir was written by William Morris Davis (1850-1934) was a prominent professor of geology, geography, and meteorology at Harvard and knew Powell personally. Summary by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont (3 hr 40 min)
Chapters
Early Life | 5:39 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Service in the Civil War | 5:03 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Visit to the Rocky Mountains, 1867-1868 | 4:28 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Exploration of the Colorado Canyon | 9:18 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Geological Survey of the Territories and Report on the Colorado Canyon | 11:10 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Antecedent Rivers | 11:10 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Geological Work | 6:20 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Physiographic Work | 8:16 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Baselevel of Erosion | 7:58 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Planation | 5:20 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Physiographic Essays | 7:23 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Lands of the Arid Region | 21:03 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
The Geological Survey | 11:19 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Topographical Map | 5:26 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Reports and Folios | 4:10 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Irrigation Survey | 1:59 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Administration | 7:21 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Resignation from the Survey | 7:22 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Residence in Washington | 3:29 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Ethnological Work | 7:22 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Bureau of Ethnology | 3:21 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Indian Languages and Mythology | 7:00 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Savagery, Barbarism, and Civilization | 3:27 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Synthetic Essays | 9:42 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Mannerisms | 3:12 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Views on Evolution | 6:58 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Evolution of Music | 11:49 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Inductive Studies | 1:40 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Indian Linguistic Families | 4:45 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Philosophical Studies | 6:23 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Pentalogic Series | 2:39 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Truth and Error | 4:44 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |
Personal Estimates | 3:35 | Read by Melanie Schleeter McCalmont |