Fielding Bradford Meek (December 10, 1817 – December 22, 1876) 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, ...

and a

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

who specialized in the invertebrates.

Biography

The son of a lawyer, he was born in

Madison, Indiana Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the large ...

. In early life he was in business as a merchant, but he became deaf and spent his leisure hours devoted to collecting

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s and studying the rocks of the neighborhood of Madison. Being unsuccessful in business with delicate health he turned his whole attention to science, and in 1848 he gained employment on the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories as an assistant to D. D. Owen in

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 ...

, and subsequently in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. In 1852 he became assistant to Professor James Hall at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, and worked at palaeontology with him until 1858. He received training in illustration from Frederick Swinton. Meanwhile, in 1853 he accompanied FV Hayden in an exploration of the

badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, ...

of Dakota and brought back valuable collections of fossils. In 1858 following clashes with Hall he went 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 devoted his time to the palaeontological work of the United States geological and geographical surveys, his work bearing the stamp of the most faithful and conscientious research, and raising him to the highest rank as a palaeontologist. About this time, both he and Hayden joined 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 1867, he was elected as a member of 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 ...

. Besides many separate contributions to science, he prepared with WM Gabb (1839–1878) two volumes on the ''palaeontology of California'' (1864–1869) and a ''Report on the Invertebrate Cretaceous and Tertiary Fossils of the Upper Missouri Country'' (1876). He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

at Washington in 1876 and is interred at

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street in Washington, D.C., in the Hill East neighborhood on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American ...

References

External links

*
Fielding B. Meek Papers
at the

Smithsonian Institution Archives Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an institutional archives and library system comprising 21 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. The Libraries and Archives serve Smithsonian Institution ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Fielding Bradford American paleontologists 1817 births 1876 deaths People from Madison, Indiana 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Washington, D.C. Members of the American Philosophical Society