Francis John Pettijohn (June 20, 1904 – April 23, 1999) was an American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

who served for many years on the faculty of

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

.Paul E. Potter, tp://rock.geosociety.org/pub/Memorials/v31/pettijohn.pdf Memorial to Francis J. Pettijohn 1904–1999 ''

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. Hitchco ...

Memorials'', v. 31, December 2000 Pettijohn received his doctorate from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in 1923 based on a study of

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

sedimentology Sedimentology encompasses the study of modern sediments such as sand, silt, and clay, and the processes that result in their formation (erosion and weathering), transport, deposition and diagenesis. Sedimentologists apply their understanding of mo ...

and

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

of an area around Abram Lake,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. In 1929 he obtained a position at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He became a full professor there in 1949. In 1943 he published an important work on Archaean sedimentation. In 1952 he moved to Johns Hopkins University where he remained until retirement in 1973.

Honors and awards

He received the

Penrose Medal The Penrose Medal was created in 1925 by R.A.F. Penrose, Jr., as the top prize awarded by the Geological Society of America. Originally created as the Geological Society of America Medal it was soon renamed the Penrose Medal by popular assent of t ...

from the

in 1975.''Presentation of the Penrose Medal to Francis J. Pettijohn,'' Geological Society of America Bulletin 1976;87;1208 Other awards include the Twenhofel Medal of the

Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists The Society for Sedimentary Geology is an international not-for-profit, scientific society based in Oklahoma. It is commonly referred to by its acronym SEPM, which refers to its former name, the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists ...

, the

Wollaston Medal The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of gold (1831–1845), t ...

of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

and the Sorby Medal of the

International Association of Sedimentologists International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. Francis J. Pettijohn medal from Society For Sedimentary Geology in 1992

Books

*''Paleocurrents and Basin Analysis,'' Springer (1963; 1977) *''Sand and Sandstone,'' Springer (1972) *''Sedimentary Rocks,'' Harpercollins; 3rd edition (1983) *''Atlas and Glossary of Sedimentary Structures,'' Springer Verlag (1964) *''Memoirs of an Unrepentant Field Geologist,'' University of Chicago Press (1984) *''Studies of Appalachian Geology: Central and Southern,'' editor, Wiley (1970)

References

1904 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American geologists Johns Hopkins University faculty University of Chicago faculty University of Minnesota alumni Penrose Medal winners {{US-geologist-stub