Percy Edward Raymond (30 May 1879 – 17 May 1952) 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, ...

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 ...

, and professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

who specialized in the evolution of

trilobites Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most successful of all early animals, ...

and studied fossils from the

Burgess Shale The Burgess Shale is a fossil-bearing deposit exposed in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils. At old (middle Cambrian), it is one of the earliest fos ...

Life and scientific career

Raymond was born in

New Canaan New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. About an hour from New York City by train, the town ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, son of George Edward and Harriet Frances née Beers. He studied at

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 ...

and although aiming to become an engineer, became fascinated by lectures of

Gilbert Dennison Harris Gilbert Dennison Harris (October 2, 1864 – December 4, 1952) was an American geologist and paleontologist. He was a professor of paleontology and stratigraphic geology at Cornell University and proprietor and editor of two scientific journals ...

. He then went on to study paleontology, receiving a PhD from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1904 under the supervision of Charles Emerson Beecher. He worked at the Carnegie Museum and the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...

before becoming an assistant professor at

and its

Museum of Comparative Zoology The Museum of Comparative Zoology (formally the Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology and often abbreviated to MCZ) is a zoology museum located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three natural-history r ...

in 1910. He worked there until his retirement in 1945, rising to the rank of full professor by 1929 and continuing on as an emeritus professor. Raymond's major work was based on a rediscovery of the specimens in the

. The largest fossil collections had been made by

Charles Doolittle Walcott Charles Doolittle Walcott (March 31, 1850February 9, 1927) was an American paleontologist, administrator of the Smithsonian Institution from 1907 to 1927, and director of the United States Geological Survey. He is famous for his discovery in 19 ...

and after his death in 1927, his collections, then thought to be exhaustive, were not allowed to be examined by his widow Mary Vaux Walcott. Raymond then re-examined the same region and found a major bed higher up which has been called the Raymond Quarry. Raymond examined trilobite evolution over time through morphology of specimens from various points in time. He especially looked at variations in the appendages and examined similarities with other groups including the insects, crustaceans and arachnids, exploring the apparent explosion of life forms in the

Cambrian period The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordovici ...

. Raymond 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 ...

. He received a Walker Grand Prize of the

Boston Society of Natural History The Boston Society of Natural History (1830–1948) in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the s ...

in 1928 for his monograph on trilobites.

Personal life

Raymond collected

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. In the past, it was an alloy of tin and lead, but most modern pewter, in order to prevent lead poi ...

and studied the history of early American pewterers and their methods. He co-founded the Pewter Collectors Club of America. His pewter-related research papers are held by the

Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate and museum in Winterthur, Delaware. Winterthur houses one of the richest collections of Americana in the United States. The museum and estate were the home of Henry Francis du Pont ...

. Raymond died at

Mount Auburn Hospital Mount Auburn Hospital (MAH) is a community hospital with a patient capacity of about 200 beds in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its main campus is located at 330 Mount Auburn St, in the neighborhood of West Cambridge (neighborhood), West Cambridge. I ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, at the age of 72. His wife Eva Grace (née Goodenough) and daughter Ruth Elspeth survived him.

References

External links

* The appendages, anatomy and relationships of trilobites (1920) *

Prehistoric Life The history of life on Earth traces the processes by which living and extinct organisms evolved, from the earliest Abiogenesis, emergence of life to the present day. Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago (abbreviated as ''Ga'', for ''gigaa ...

(1947)
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Percy 1879 births 1952 deaths American collectors American geologists American paleontologists Cornell University alumni Harvard University faculty Yale University alumni Fellows of the Geological Society of America People from New Canaan, Connecticut