Charles Whitman Cross
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Charles Whitman Cross (September 1, 1854 – April 20, 1949) was an American
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
. He was educated at
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
, the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
, and
Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
. A
petrologist Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks, their mineralogy, composition, texture, structure and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous an ...
, much of his field work concerned rocks in
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. He and three other geologists proposed the CIPW norm that is still used in normative mineralogy. He was also active in scientific societies and institutions.


Early life and education

Cross was born September 1, 1854, in Amherst,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, to Maria Mason Cross and the Rev. Moses Kimball Cross. Later his family moved to Waverly,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, where he graduated high school. In 1872 he entered the Scientific Course at
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
. After earning a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in 1875, he remained at Amherst doing post-graduate studies in science. He attended the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
from 1877 to 1878, when he transferred to
Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
. There he studied under Ferdinand Zirkel and earned his Ph.D. in 1880.


Career

After completing his Ph.D., Cross returned to the United States and began a career 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 ...
that would last until his retirement in 1925. From 1880 to 1888 he was based in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, after which he moved to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, where he headed the Survey's petrology section.


Research

Cross was a
petrologist Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks, their mineralogy, composition, texture, structure and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous an ...
, and much of his field work focused on rocks. Most of this was done in Colorado, in rugged terrain with few roads. His greatest work was on the
San Juan Mountains The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...
beginning in 1895. He also worked in the Leucite Hills of
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
and in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. Besides his substantial field work, Cross was known for his pioneering research in normative mineralogy. Together with Joseph P. Iddings, Louis Valentine Pirsson, and Henry Stephens Washington, he devised a measurement of the chemical composition of rocks that came to be known as the CIPW norm, after their initials. Published in a 1903 book, their method was more quantitative than previous approaches and introduced a novel nomenclature system. While other petrologists generally judged their nomenclature to be too detailed and cumbersome, they embraced the quantitative approach of calculating a "norm" based on a rock's chemical composition, and the CIPW norm remains a staple of petrology.


Other professional activities

Cross helped organize the National Research Council. He was a member from 1918 to 1922, treasurer from 1918 to 1919, and vice chairman of its Division of Geology and Geography in 1918. He was among several geologists who persuaded the
Carnegie Institution of Washington The Carnegie Institution for Science, also known as Carnegie Science and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is an organization established to fund and perform scientific research in the United States. This institution is headquartered in W ...
to establish its Geophysical Laboratory. In 1910 he organized the Petrologists' Club, whose first meetings took place in his home. Cross was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
in 1908 and was its treasurer from 1911 to 1919. he was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1915. He was a member 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 was its president in 1918.Eckel, Edwin, 1982, GSA Memoir 155, The Geological Society of America — Life History of a Learned Society: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Memoir 155, 168 p., . In 1925, his
alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...
Amherst College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree.


Personal life

On November 7, 1895, Cross married Virginia Stevens, daughter of Moses T. Stevens. They had one child, a son.


Death and legacy

Cross died April 20, 1949, in
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
. At the time of his death he was the oldest member of the National Academy of Sciences and the oldest living alumnus of Amherst College. Crossite is named in his honor.


Bibliography

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Footnotes


Citations


References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Charles Whitman 1854 births 1949 deaths American geologists Petrologists People from Amherst, Massachusetts People from Bremer County, Iowa Scientists from Washington, D.C. Amherst College alumni Leipzig University alumni United States Geological Survey personnel Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Geological Society of America Presidents of the Geological Society of America