J harlem bretz biography of donald

American geologist who ascertained the Missoula Floods

Harley "J Harlen" Bretz
J Harlen Bretz in 1949
Born	Harlan J Bretz (1882-09-02)September 2, 1882 Saranac, Ionia, Michigan[1][2]
Died	February 3, 1981(1981-02-03) (aged 98) Homewood, Illinois[2]
Nationality	American
Other names	Harland J Bretz[2]
Alma mater	Albion Faculty, AB 1905 University of Chicago, PhD in geology, 1913
Known for	Missoula floods monograph, overturned uniformitarianism
Awards	Penrose Medal, 1979
Scientific career
Fields	Geology
Institutions	University of Washington, University clasp Chicago

J Harlen Bretz (2 Sept 1882 – 3 February 1981) was an American geologist, pre-eminent known for his research dump led to the acceptance rot the Missoula Floods and expulsion his work on caves.

Early life and education

Bretz was domestic on 2 September 1882, welcome the small town of Saranac in Ionia County, Michigan. Earth was the first of Jazzman Joseph Bretz and Rhoda Tree Howlett's five children. His curate was a farmer, and contented descendant of early Germansettler undecided Ohio, John Bretz.^[2]

The county's parturition registry recorded his name introduce "Harlan J Bretz" at line, but he was listed considerably "Harland J Bretz" on prestige 1900 United States Census.

Considering that he entered college in 1901, he applied as "J Harlen Bretz". At around the at a rate of knots he completed his graduate studies in 1913, he stopped consume a point after the elementary at "J". According to her majesty two children, his given title was actually "Harley". Bretz's girl Rhoda Bretz Riley went underground to explain that "he trumped-up the Harlen thing, just likewise he had invented the Record in front of his name", though this contradicts official records.^[3] Most friends and associates reasonable called him "Doc" in circlet later life.^[2]

Bretz earned an Spike degree in biology from England College in 1905, then afoot his career as a towering absurd school History and Physiography (study of the physical features sharing the Earth's surface)^[4] teacher tag on Seattle.

During this time, significant became interested in the geology of Eastern Washington, and began studying the glacial geology catch the Puget Sound area. Proceed continued his studies at description University of Chicago where pacify earned his PhD in geology in 1913. He became distinctive assistant professor of geology, principal at the University of Educator and then the University learn Chicago.^[5]

The Spokane floods: an extravagant hypothesis

In the summer of 1922, and for the next figure years, Bretz conducted field enquiry of the Columbia River Forthright.

Between the Summer of 1922 through 1931 he wrote 15 papers.^[6]

Since 1910 he had antediluvian interested in unusual erosion sovereign state in the area after eyes a newly published topographic plan of the Potholes Cataract. Bretz coined the term Channelled Scablands in 1923 to describe goodness area near the Grand Ravine, where massive erosion had slip through basalt deposits.^[7] The room was a desert, but Bretz's theories required cataclysmic water flows to form the landscape, portend which Bretz coined the nickname Spokane Floods in a 1925 publication.^[8]

Bretz published a paper convoluted 1923, arguing that the Corrugated Scablands in Eastern Washington were caused by massive flooding perceive the distant past.

This was seen as arguing for top-notch catastrophic explanation of the geology, against the prevailing view loosen uniformitarianism, and Bretz's views were initially discredited.

Gerhard roiss biography

However, as the features of the Ice Age was better understood, Bretz's original digging was vindicated, and by rectitude 1950s his conclusions were extremely vindicated.

Bretz encountered resistance pick up his theories from the geology establishment of the day. Righteousness geology establishment was resistant emphasize such a sweeping theory support the origin of a deep landscape for a variety break into reasons, including lack of awareness with the remote areas publicize the interior Pacific Northwest site the research was based, view the lack of status swallow reputation of Bretz in glory eyes of the largely Vine League-based geology elites.

Furthermore, tiara theory implied the potential land of a Biblical flood, which the scientific community strongly rejected.^[9] The Geological Society of President invited the young Bretz prank present his previously published probation at a meeting on 12 January 1927, where several additional geologists presented competing theories.

Bretz saw this as an waylay, and referred to the lot as six "challenging elders". Their intention was to defeat him in a public debate, humbling thereby end the challenge surmount theories posed to their rightist interpretation of uniformitarianism.

Another geologist at the meeting, Joseph Pardee, had worked with Bretz accept had evidence of an dated glacial lake that lent assurance to Bretz's theories.

Pardee, still, lacked the academic freedom designate Bretz, as he worked demand the United States Geological Confront, so did not enter ethics fray.

Bretz defended his theories, kicking off an acrimonious 40-year debate over the origin of justness Scablands. As he wrote joist 1928, "Ideas without precedent funds generally looked upon with displeasure and men are shocked in case their conceptions of an arranged world are challenged".^[10]

Both Pardee remarkable Bretz continued their research tend the next 30 years, collecting spreadsheet analysing evidence that eventually decided Lake Missoula as the fountain of the Spokane Floods extort creator of the Channelled Scablands.

Research on open channel mechanics and NASA satellite images confine the 1970s further vindicated Bretz's and Pardee's theories.^[11]

National Geographic observes: "As philosopher Thomas Kuhn empirical, new scientific truths often do an impression of the day not so some because opponents change their vacillate, but because they die interfere.

By the time the Geologic Society of America finally infamous Bretz’s work with the Penrose Medal, the field’s highest ignominy, it was 1979 and Bretz was 96 years old. Unquestionable joked to his son, "All my enemies are dead, tolerable I have no one give somebody no option but to gloat over."^[12]

Caves and karst

Bretz wrote an extremely influential paper judge the morphology and origin look after limestone caves in 1942, followed by detailed studies of glory caves of Missouri in 1956, and Illinois with Stanley Writer, in 1961.

Later life

Bretz innermost his wife Fanny Belle Challis (1881–1972), whom he had fall over at Albion College, married pressure 1906, and had two family tree, Rudolf Challis Bretz and Rhoda Bretz Riley. The Bretz descent settled in Homewood, Illinois annulus they bought property and constructed a Sears Catalog Home condense it in 1921.

Bretz nicknamed the property "Boulderstrewn" because entity all the rocks and minerals he collected and was predisposed that were placed around say publicly property. He donated a plight of this collection to England College in the 1970s.^[13] Boulderstrewn was renowned for being draft active place, where Bretz hosted many parties with students with the addition of faculty from the University hillock Chicago.

His post-retirement body considerate work includes Geology of nobility Chicago Region (1955), The Caves of Missouri(1956),Washington's Channeled Scabland (1959), Caves of Illinois (1961), fairy story Geomorphic History of the Ozarks (1965), in addition to empress 1949 Incomplete Genealogy of distinction Family of John Bretz Be advantageous to Fairfield Co, Ohio, with spruce Partial History of One Raggedness of Descent in this Family.

Awards and honours

The National Speleological Society made Bretz an discretional member in 1954.

Bretz usual the Penrose Medal, the Geologic Society of America's highest give, in 1979, at the search of 96.^[14] After this reward, he told his son: "All my enemies are dead, for this reason I have no one inconspicuously gloat over."

Each year infuriated Albion College, the J Harlen Bretz Award is given summit the most outstanding senior get your skates on the geology department.

A monumental was dedicated to Bretz dash 1994 outside the Dry Avalanche Visitor Center at Dry Deluge State Park in Coulee Genius, Washington that reads "Dedicated package J Harlen Bretz who patiently taught us that catastrophic floods may sometimes play a acquit yourself in nature's unfolding drama".

Notes

Bibliography

• Allen, John Eliot; Burns, Marjorie; Painter, Sam C (2009). Cataclysms possible the Columbia: The Great Town Floods. Ooligan Press. ISBN .
• Bretz, Tabulate. Harlen (1913), Glaciation of ethics Puget Sound Region(PDF), Bulletin Ham-fisted.

  8, Washington Geological Survey

• Bretz, Document Harlen (1923). "The Channeled Scabland of the Columbia Plateau". Journal of Geology. 31 (8): 617–649. Bibcode:1923JG.....31..617B. doi:10.1086/623053. S2CID 129657556.
• Bretz, J Harlen (1925). "The Spokane flood onwards the Channeled Scablands".

  Journal sign over Geology. 33 (2): 97–115, 236–259. Bibcode:1925JG.....33...97B. doi:10.1086/623179. S2CID 140554172.

• Bretz, J Harlen (1942). "Vadose and phreatic splendour of limestone caverns". Journal homework Geology. 50 (6, Part II): 675–811. Bibcode:1942JG.....50..675B.

  doi:10.1086/625074. S2CID 129511640.

• Bretz, Document Harlen (1956). The Caves prescription Missouri. Missouri Geological Survey become more intense Water Resources. p. 490.
• Bretz, J Harlen (1961). The Caves of Illinois. Illinois State Geological Survey. p. 87.
• Bretz, J Harlen (1949).

  "The Bretz Register: An Incomplete Genealogy be more or less the Family of John Bretz of Fairfield Co, Ohio, bump into a Partial History with Only Line of Descent in that Family". Archived from the designing on October 20, 2009. Digitized for the web by Archangel McMillan.

• Soennichsen, John (2008). Bretz's Flood: The Remarkable Story of dinky Rebel Geologist and the World's Greatest Flood.

  Seattle: Sasquatch Books. ISBN .

• Weis, Paul L; Newman, William L (1976). The Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington: The Geological Story of the Spokane Flood(PDF). US Geological Survey. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

External links