Joseph Austin Holmes (January 23, 1859 – July 13, 1915) was a geologist and

occupational safety and health Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work (i.e., while performing duties required by one's occupation). OSH is re ...

pioneer, best known as the first director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. He is the namesake of the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association created in 1916.

Early life and education

Joseph Austin Holmes was born on January 23, 1859, in

Laurens, South Carolina Laurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,139 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Laurens County. History Located in upstate South Carolina, the city of Laurens is named after Henry Lau ...

. He was one of 12 children, and attended Laurens Academy. He graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1881 with 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 ...

in agriculture. Holmes also got a

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Career

In 1881, Holmes was appointed as professor of geology and natural history at the

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. He served as department head from 1881 to 1891 and left the university in 1903. He was appointed as the first state geologist of North Carolina in 1891 and served in that role until 1905. He was in charge of the North Carolina Geological Survey. Holmes organized the North Carolina Good Roads Association and served as its president. He organized and directed the Department of Mines and Metallurgy at the

St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mill ...

in 1903 and 1904. He was also appointed to a congressional committee involved in investigating better ways to use domestically produced fuels and materials. Impressed by his work at the World's Fair, President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

appointed Holmes as chief of 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 ...

laboratories in 1904. In 1907, he was appointed as chief of the new technological branch of the U.S. Geological Survey, the division in charge of investigating mine accidents. In 1910, Holmes was appointed by President Taft as the Director of the newly formed U.S. Bureau of Mines. The appointment came as a surprise to many because of tensions existing between Holmes and the

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

Richard A. Ballinger. Under Holmes's leadership, the first national mine safety demonstration was hosted in an experimental mine in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He also helped develop the

Weeks Act The Weeks Act is a federal law (36 Stat. 961) enacted by the United States Congress on March 1, 1911. Introduced by Massachusetts Congressman John W. Weeks and signed into law by President William Howard Taft, the law authorized the United Stat ...

, 1911 legislation that facilitated the creation of national forests. Holmes discovered that the dust from

black coal Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...

was more dangerous than

firedamp Firedamp is any flammable gas found in coal mines, typically coalbed methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata and, when they are penetrated, the ...

for miners. He discovered that coal dust could also cause mine explosions. This ended the dangerous practice of packing explosives in boreholes using coal dust. He organized the Explosives and Electrical Sections of the Bureau to improve safety in mines and equipped railroad cars as movable stations used to train miners in first aid and rescue operations. He was a fellow 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 ...

Personal life

Holmes married Jean Daiziel Sprunt of

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

. Together, they had four children: Joseph, James, Jean and Margaret. His contemporaries sometimes referred to him as "Joe Holmes".

Death

Holmes contracted

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 ...

in 1914 and died of the disease 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 ...

, on July 13, 1915. He was interred at

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth (Washington, D.C.), Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., across ...

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 ...

Legacy

A year after his death, in 1916, the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association was established to pay respect and honor the work Holmes did. Holmes was inducted posthumously into the

National Mining Hall of Fame The National Mining Hall of Fame is a museum located in Leadville, Colorado, United States, dedicated to commemorating the work of miners and people who work with natural resources. The museum also participates in efforts to inform the public ab ...

in 1990. He is remembered for coining the phrase "safety first", as used as a watchword in the mines.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Joseph Austin 1859 births 1915 deaths People from Laurens, South Carolina 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Colorado Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery Cornell University alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty United States Geological Survey personnel United States Bureau of Mines personnel American geologists Fellows of the Geological Society of America