Jacob Whitman Bailey (1811–1857) was an American naturalist, known as the pioneer in microscopic research in America.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435

Biography

Jacob Whitman Bailey was born in Auburn, Massachusetts on April 29, 1811, and in 1832 graduated at West Point, where, after 1834, he was successively assistant professor, acting professor, and professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, propertie ...

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

, and

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

. At West Point he studied with

John Torrey John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botany, botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focus ...

. He devised various improvements in the construction of the microscope and made an extensive collection of microscopic objects and of

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

, which he left to the Boston Society of Natural History. In 1857 he was president of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, as well as a member of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor to the Smithsonian Institution. He was elected an Associate Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

(AAAS) in 1845. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1852. Bailey and his son William were survivors of the steamboat ''

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

'' disaster on July 28, 1852, though his wife and daughter, both named Maria, were among the casualties. He wrote many articles on scientific subjects for the ''

American Journal of Science The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...

'' and for scientific societies, a report on the infusorial

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 preserved ...

s of California, and a valuable volume of ''Microscopical Sketches'', containing 3000 original figures. Bailey died on February 26, 1857, at the beginning of his term of office as President of the AAAS. On August 19, 1857,

Augustus Addison Gould Augustus Addison Gould (April 23, 1805 – September 15, 1866) was an American conchologist and malacologist. Biography Born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, he was the son of music teacher Nathaniel Duren Gould (1781–1864) who was also noted ...

delivered a speech to the AAAS in commemoration of Bailey's life. The speech was subsequently published in the ''

American Journal of Science and Arts The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...

'', volume xxv (second series), (New Haven, May 1858). The genus '' Baileya'', a North American genus of sun-loving wildflowers native to the deserts of northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States was named by botanists William Henry Harvey and

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually excl ...

in honor of their colleague Jacob Whitman Bailey. It was Jacob Whitman Bailey that Lieut. Matthew Fontaine Maury wrote a letter to inquiring as to the material from the sea floor brought up with Lt. John Mercer Brook's deep-sea soundings and core samples. From that it was determined that the sea floor where the trans-Atlantic Cable was laid because the samples showed Lieut. M. F. Maury that his "Telegraphic Plateau" was perfect for the underwater cable. The samples Maury sent proved the "Telegraphic Plateau" samples were non-abrasive for such a cable to be laid. Bailey was buried at the West Point Cemetery.

Sources

* Several editions from 1855-1864 that were improved with time as more information was collected entitled "Physical Geography of the Sea" by Matthew Fontaine Maury. Specifically I cite this one: "The Physical Geography of the Sea, and its Meteorology" Eleventh Edition. By M. F. Maury, LL.D. Illustrated with numerous charts and diagrams. SAMPSON LOW, SON & MARSTON, 14 LUDGATE HILL. 1864. (This source is also a full book transcription on https://en.wikisource.org) * https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Physical_Geography_of_the_Sea_and_its_Meteorology.djvu/343 * Page 317 section §587. Bailey's letter. rofessor Bailey's reply to Lt. Matthew Fontaine Maury on deep sea core samples using Lt. John Mercer Brook's deep sea sounding device and core sampling device.
Also see pages 345+ * https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Physical_Geography_of_the_Sea_and_its_Meteorology.djvu/345

References

* * JACOB W. BAILEY AND THE DIATOMS OF THE WILKES EXPLORING EXPEDITION (1838-1842). Robert K. Edgar, Occasional Papers of the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany, No. 14 (July, 1979), pages 9–33
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Jacob Whitman 1811 births 1857 deaths People from Auburn, Massachusetts United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Military Academy faculty People of the United States Exploring Expedition American science writers Shipwreck survivors Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Burials at West Point Cemetery