} Robert Peele (July 15, 1858 – December 8, 1942) was an American mining engineer. He was an emeritus professor at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and author of the ''Mining Engineers' Handbook,'' which was in print from 1918 to 1989.

Biography

Peele was born on July 15, 1858, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of Raymond and Anne Westervelt Peele. He received the degree of Engineer of Mining from

Columbia School of Mines The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (also known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; historically Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University, a private research university i ...

in 1883 and immediately entered the mining business. He worked in gold and silver mines in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

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 ...

, and

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 performed evaluations of mining fields in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, and

Dutch Guiana Dutch Guiana may refer to: * Dutch colonisation of the Guianas, the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America * Surinam (Dutch colony), commonly called "Dutch Guiana" after the loss of other large colonies in the area ...

. He served as superintendent of the Oregon Gold Mining Company and engineer of the Peruvian Exploration Syndicate. Peele became a member of the mining engineering firm of Olcott, Fearn, and Peele. He joined the

faculty in 1892, and was appointed professor in 1904 and served in that capacity until 1925, becoming professor emeritus. He wrote extensively on mining subjects and was the editor of a popular handbook known as the ''Mining Engineers' Handbook,'' which was published in 1918, 1927, and 1941, the third edition of which remained in print until 1989, and was one of the most used mining books of the twentieth century. Peele died on December 8, 1942, at age 84, in

. Peele was named an honorary member of the

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) is a professional association for mining and metallurgy, with over 145,000 members. The association was founded in 1871 by 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Penns ...

in 1936. The AIME established the Robert Peele Memorial Award in 1953 "for the most outstanding paper published on behalf of The Mining and Exploration Division by an SME member under the age of 35." Peele was inducted 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 2004.

References

{{Authority control 1858 births Columbia School of Mines alumni Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty American mining engineers 1942 deaths Engineers from New York City