Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) 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, ...

noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union Army during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Early life

Ferdinand Hayden was born in

Westfield, Massachusetts Westfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metrop ...

. As a young boy he was fascinated with all nature and wildlife, which led him into the field of medicine. He worked in Cleveland under Jared Potter Kirtland and thereafter in Albany, NY, where he worked under James Hall, of the ''Geological Survey of New York''. He graduated from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1850 and from the

Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a Private university, private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Me ...

in 1853, where he attracted the notice of Professor James Hall, state geologist of New York, through whose influence he was induced to join in an exploration of

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

, with Fielding B. Meek to study geology and collect fossils. Hall sent him on his first geological venture in the summer of 1853. Being of independent mind Hayden ended his commission with Hall, and with the encouragement of S. F. Baird, and a partial sponsorship from the Smithsonian Institution, he spent the remainder of the 1850s on various exploring and collecting expeditions in the northern Missouri River areas. In 1856 and 1857, Hayden accompanied exploration expeditions led by Lieutenant Gouverneur K. Warren and in 1859, the Raynolds Expedition of 1860 led by Captain William F. Raynolds, both of the Topographical Engineers. One result of the expedition was his ''Geological Report of the Exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers in 1859–1860'' (1869). During the

he served as an army surgeon. He rose to be chief medical officer of the Army of the Shenandoah and received a brevet to lieutenant colonel.

Geological surveys

After the American Civil War Hayden led geographic and geologic surveys of the Nebraska and Western Territories for the United States Government. In 1867 he was appointed geologist-in-charge of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. In 1869, Hayden led an expedition along the Front Range to Denver and Santa Fe. In 1870 he received a $25,000 governmental grant to lead a 20-man expedition to South Pass, Fort Bridger, Henry's Fork, and back to Cheyenne. About this time, he also became identified with the

Megatherium Club The Megatherium Club was a group of scientists based in Washington, D.C. as a result of the Smithsonian Institution's rapidly growing collection, meeting from 1857 to 1866. It was founded by William Stimpson. Many of the members had no formal ed ...

at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. To measure distances during their journeys into the western frontier Hayden employed the use of an

odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two (electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient Gr ...

, a device used by mappers to estimate distances traveled. The device was mounted on a mule-drawn cart that measured distances as the cart wheels rolled along. Because of rough terrain the device was accurate to within about 3%.

Yellowstone

In 1871, Hayden led America's first federally funded geological survey into the

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

region of northwestern

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 ...

, given directions by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

's Secretary of Interior

Columbus Delano Columbus Delano (June 4, 1809 – October 23, 1896) was an American lawyer, rancher, banker, statesman, and a member of the prominent Delano family. Forced to live on his own at an early age, Delano struggled to become a self-made man. Delano ...

. The survey consisted of some 50 men which included notables such as painter Thomas Moran and famous frontier/Civil War photographer

William Henry Jackson William Henry Jackson (April 4, 1843 – June 30, 1942) was an American photographer, American Civil War, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, t ...

. The following year, Hayden and his work, ''Preliminary Report of the United States Geological Survey of Montana and Portions of Adjacent Territories; Being a Fifth Annual Report of Progress'' was instrumental in convincing Congress to establish Yellowstone as the first U.S.

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

, aided by Jackson's stunning large-format photographs and Moran's dramatic paintings. These publications also encouraged the westward expansion of the United States.

Later life

Hayden 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 1860. He was made professor of geology at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1865 with the help of Leidy. Hayden was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1873. He was elected a Foreign Member 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 ...

in 1879. Upon the reorganization and establishment of the

United States 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 Mar ...

in 1879 he acted for seven years as one of the geologists. He died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on December 22, 1887, and is interred at The Woodlands Cemetery.

Legacy

From his twelve years of labor and annual survey journeys there resulted a most valuable series of volumes in all branches of natural history and economic science; and he issued in 1877 his ''Geological and Geographical Atlas of

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 ...

''. The last of the annual survey journeys was in 1878. As a result of Hayden's extensive geological work, he uncovered numerous dinosaur fossils which he brought back east with him for further scientific study. Much of what he brought back is still housed in the collection of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. American paleontologist

Joseph Leidy Joseph Mellick Leidy (September 9, 1823 – April 30, 1891) was an American paleontologist, parasitologist and anatomist. Leidy was professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, later becoming a professor of natural history at Swarth ...

obtained most of his fossil specimens from Hayden. Hayden Valley in Yellowstone is named after him. In 2018, Native American leaders have called for it to be renamed, because he "advocated for the extermination of tribal people who refused to comply with federal dictates". The town of

Hayden, Colorado The Town of Hayden is a home rule municipality located in Routt County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,941 at the 2020 United States census. Hayden is a part of the Steamboat Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

, located in the Yampa River valley, is named for him. Many mountain peaks bear his name as well. The sedge ''Carex haydeniana'' was named for him by Stephen Thayer Olney, in 1871. A subspecies of garter snake, '' Thamnophis radix haydenii'', was named for him by Robert Kennicott in 1860. A land snail, ''Oreohelix haydeni'', was named for him by William Gabb in 1869. Hayden Hall at the University of Pennsylvania which formerly housed the dental school now houses the bioengineering and earth sciences departments. Hayden was eulogized by United States Geological Survey Director

John Wesley Powell John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...

in an annual report to the United States Secretary of the Interior in 1889.

Other publications

With FB Meek, he wrote (''Smithsonian Institution Contributions'', v. 14. Art. 4) "Palaeontology of the Upper Missouri, Pt. 1, Invertebrate." His valuable notes on Native American dialects are in ''The Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'' (1862) in ''The American Journal of Science'' (1862) and in The Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (1869). With ARC Selwyn he wrote North America (1883) for Stanford's ''Compendium''. *''Sun Pictures of Rocky Mountain Scenery'' (1870) ** *''The Yellowstone National Park'', illustrated by chromolithographic reproductions of water-colour sketches by Thomas Moran (1876)
''The Great West: its Attractions and Resources''
(1880)

References

External links

Biographies of people honored in herpetological nomenclature

from th
US Geological Survey
*

* ttp://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/hayden-f-v.pdf National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Ferdinand Vandeveer 1829 births 1887 deaths Burials at The Woodlands Cemetery People from Westfield, Massachusetts People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War American geologists Physicians from Massachusetts History of Colorado Union army surgeons Oberlin College alumni Albany Medical College alumni National Park Service United States Geological Survey personnel Explorers of the United States Members of the American Philosophical Society