Maynard Bixby (June 28, 1853 – February 18, 1935) was an American

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

and

mineral collector Mineral collecting is the hobby of systematically collecting, identifying and displaying mineral specimens. Mineral collecting can also be a part of the profession of mineralogy and allied geologic specialties. Individual collectors often spe ...

Early life

Bixby was born in

Wyalusing, Pennsylvania Wyalusing is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 596 as of the 2010 census. History The history of Wyalusing dates back centuries. It was originally known as ...

and graduated from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

in 1876. He worked for a time in

Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It ...

, where he was a bookkeeper and studied law. He then decided to travel the country and became involved in

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

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 ...

and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Career

Bixby explored the

Thomas Range The Thomas Range is a mountain range of north central Juab County, Utah, Juab County of western Utah, United States. Topaz Mountain is in the southern part of the range and Spor Mountain lies to the southwest.''Utah Atlas & Gazetteer,'' DeLorme, ...

Juab County, Utah Juab County ( ) is a county in western Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 11,786. Its county seat and largest city is Nephi. Juab County is part of the Provo– Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statisti ...

for minerals and staked several claims for

topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral made of aluminium, aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula aluminium, Alsilicon, Sioxygen, O(fluorine, F, hydroxide, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural ...

. One, the Maynard's Claim, is still being mined for specimens. The mineral

bixbyite Bixbyite is a manganese iron oxide mineral with chemical formula: . The iron/manganese ratio is quite variable and many specimens have almost no iron. It is a metallic dark black with a Mohs hardness of 6.0 – 6.5. It is a somewhat rare mineral ...

, which he discovered there, was named in his honor in 1897. The rare, red

beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium Silicate minerals#Cyclosilicates, silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and Aquamarine (gem), aquamarine. Naturally occurring Hex ...

also found there, originally named ''bixbite'' in his honor, was later renamed "red beryl" to avoid confusion with bixbyite. Bixby wrote articles for ''The Mineral Collector.'' In the December 1896 issue Bixby published his first ad, a full-page one, in which this text appeared:

For several years I have collected the very finest of the Utah minerals and have concluded to offer them direct to collectors at the following low prices ...

In 1902 he published the first edition of his authoritative ''A Catalogue of Utah Minerals and Localities'', and by 1916 had issued a fourth edition.

Death

Bixby died in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

.Mitchell, R. S. (1987). "Who's who in mineral names: John George Cowles and Maynard Bixby", ''Rocks & Minerals'', 62, 120-123.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bixby, Maynard 1853 births 1935 deaths People from Wyalusing, Pennsylvania American mineralogists Lafayette College alumni