Fritiof Fryxell
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Fritiof M. Fryxell (April 27, 1900 – December 19, 1986) was an American educator,
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
mountain climber Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...
, best known for his research and writing on the
Teton Range The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park, ...
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 ...
. Upon the establishment of
Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is a national park of the United States in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. G ...
in 1929, he was named the park’s first
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
, a position he held for six summers. He was also an accomplished biographer, publishing works on several artists and explorers of the
American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...
.


Early years

Fritiof Fryxell was born in
Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...
to John and Sophie Fryxell, immigrants from
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. He attended Augustana College in nearby Rock Island, graduating in 1922 with majors in biology and English. He was a founding father of the Gamma Alpha Beta fraternity at Augustana College. Fryxell earned a Master's degree in English from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
and then a Ph.D. in
geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
. His dissertation subject, mountain
glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...
, took him to the West in 1924, where he fell in love with the Teton Mountains. He joined the faculty of Augustana in the fall of 1924.


Life in the Tetons

Beginning in 1926, Fryxell spent the next nine summers in and around the Teton Range, which at the time was inaccessible by train or automobile. During three summers of field work for his dissertation, Fryxell spent almost all his time in
Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre Range, Gros Ventre and Teton Range, Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, Wyoming, T ...
, the valley in the eastern lee of the Tetons, studying the
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
s and glacial outwash from the mountains. He camped out, carrying his tent, rations, and down-filled sleeping bag with him as he traversed the valley floor. After his appointment as park naturalist in 1929, he was finally able to explore the mountains themselves. On his rare days off, he would rise as early as two o'clock in the morning to begin his ascent. Nearly always exploring alone, he climbed previously untraveled canyons, discovered hidden lakes, and summitted many of the range’s peaks for the first time. During the academic year, Fryxell worked at developing a geology curriculum at Augustana. When he completed his doctoral studies in 1929, the college appointed him the first chair of the new Department of Geology. Fryxell returned to Grand Teton National Park every summer through 1934. During this time he founded the park’s museum and developed an interpretive curriculum for visitors – still finding time to blaze new trails up the mountains and log new discoveries on each trip.


Writing

In 1935 Fryxell took a new summer position in
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
as geologist with the Museum Laboratories of the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
. He brought with him years of notes and diaries that he had accumulated during his stays in Wyoming, and putting his degree in English to good work produced ''The Tetons: Interpretations of a Mountain Landscape'' (1938), a classic of Western nature literature that has been reprinted many times. Over the rest of his career, Fryxell wrote several other scholarly books about the Tetons, glaciation, and topics of geological interest. In addition, he had a passion for preserving the history of the great Western explorers and artists who had spent time in the Tetons. Among his topics were mountain climber Billy Owen, artist
Thomas Moran Thomas Moran (February 12, 1837 – August 25, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family, wife Mary Nimmo Moran and daughter Ruth, took ...
, 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 ...
, and cartographer and geologist
François E. Matthes François Émile Matthes ( – ) was a geologist and an expert in topographic mapping, glaciers, and climate change. He mapped remote areas of the American West for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). His maps coincided with the devel ...
. He also completed five volumes of Matthes's unfinished work.


War service

Fritiof Fryxell served as Senior Geologist for the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
from 1939 to 1940. After the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, while in the service of the Geological Military Unit, he played a crucial role in selecting landing sites in the South Pacific as well as Africa and Europe.


Honors

*Fryxell was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 1954 in the field of Earth Science. * Lake Fryxell, a glacial lake near the coast of
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
, was named for Fritiof Fryxell by Professor T. L. Péwé during USN
Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze is the code name for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There was an init ...
, in 1957-58. * Fryxell Geology Museum at Augustana College, one of the largest sources of educational materials and specimens for students of geology, was named in his honor.


Family

Fritiof Fryxell wrote a manuscript biography of his father, an immigrant from Vättlösa Parish, near
Götene Götene is a locality and the seat of Götene Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders ...
in southern Sweden, but never tried to publish it. After his death ''The Story of John Fryxell'' was published by the Augustana Historical Society with an introduction by Ann Boaden. Fryxell's wife, Regina Holmén Fryxell, was an organist and music teacher with a doctorate and an education from the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
. She was also on the faculty at Augustana College and accompanied him on his trips to Wyoming. Fryxell's son,
Roald Roald is a village in Giske Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located on the northern part of the island Vigra. Roald is located about north of the city centre of Ålesund. It is connected to the mainland via two u ...
, was a geologist and archaeologist. One of his nephews,
Paul Fryxell Paul Arnold Fryxell was an American Botany, botanist known for his work on flowering plants, especially those within the Malvaceae. Education and career Fryxell attended Moline public schools and later Augustana College (Illinois), Augustana Co ...
, was a botanist.


Selected works


Notes


External links


The Fryxell Project (with photos)


References

*


Related reading

*Runte, Alfred (2010) ''National Parks: The American Experience'' (Taylor Trade Publishing) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fryxell, Fritiof 1900 births 1986 deaths American people of Swedish descent People from Moline, Illinois 20th-century American geologists American mountain climbers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Chicago alumni Augustana College (Illinois) alumni Augustana College (Illinois) faculty