Thomas Brennan Nolan (May 21, 1901 – August 2, 1992) 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, ...

who was director of the

United States 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 Mar ...

(USGS) from 1956 to 1965. The mineral nolanite is named in his honor and he was an elected member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) 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, and other ...

, the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. He was generally known as Tom Nolan.

Early life

Nolan was born in

Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is the county seat, and sole city, of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Commun ...

in 1901. He was educated at

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, then studied Metallurgy at

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 ...

, graduating with a BS in 1921. He continued studying at Yale and received a PhD in Geology in 1924. After training for the Civil Service he joined the US Geological Survey,

USGS career

After Director

William Embry Wrather William Embry Wrather (January 20, 1883 – November 28, 1963) was an American petroleum and economic geologist who served in various administrative roles including as director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). He was awarded the John Fritz ...

retired because of illness and age in 1955, Assistant Director Thomas B. Nolan became the 's (USGS) seventh director in January 1956. During his 11 years as an Assistant Director, Nolan had many times and for extended periods served as an Acting Director so no transition period was needed. Nolan believed that geologists, because of the unique requirements imposed on them by their science, should expand their fields of interest from individual problems and "participate actively and authoritatively in the matters affecting the whole country." Until September 1965, when he resumed his research in

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

geology, Nolan pushed, prodded, and led the Survey to a broadened and intensified commitment to basic research, to the advancement of geology in the public service, and to the prompt publication of Survey results. As Assistant Director, he had also served as the Interior Department representative on the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific Research and Development, on the Scientific Advisory Committee on Specialized Personnel to the

Selective Service The Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent agency of the United States government that maintains a database of registered male U.S. citizens and other U.S. residents potentially subject to military conscription (i.e., the draft). ...

Committee, and on the Advisory Board on Education of the

, and had been president of the

Society of Economic Geologists The Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) is a scientific organization that promotes the study of geology as it relates to mining, mineral exploration, mineral resource classification and mineral extraction. The society's Publication Board publish ...

and 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 ...

(1961). As Director, his professional responsibilities outside the Survey were still further extended to service as vice president and president of the Geological Society of America, as vice president of the International Union of Geological Sciences, and on committees advisory to university geology departments. In 1956, the Geological Survey began an evaluation of the effects of underground nuclear explosions at the Atomic Energy Commission's Nevada Test Site; that program was expanded to study the geologic and hydrologic conditions affecting the peaceful uses of atomic energy and the disposal of radioactive wastes. In December 1958, Director Nolan, speaking at the meeting of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, remarked that the early work of the Geological Survey had been characterized by a transition from exploration of a geographical to an intellectual frontier, but demands by younger scientists for studies of the geography of outer space might soon inaugurate a new cycle in the history of the US Geological Survey. In 1959, the Survey compiled a photogeologic map of the Earth's satellite, the Moon, and began studies of

tektites Tektites () are gravel-sized bodies composed of black, green, brown or grey natural glass formed from terrestrial debris ejected during meteorite impacts. The term was coined by Austrian geologist Franz Eduard Suess (1867–1941), son of Eduar ...

and

impact craters An impact crater is a depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters typically ...

. On May 25, 1961, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

proposed as a goal "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth" before the end of the decade, and in 1963, the US Geological Survey, in cooperation with the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

, began to train astronauts in geology and to investigate and evaluate methods and equipment for geological and geophysical exploration of the Moon. He died in

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 ...

, on August 2, 1992.

Family

He was married to Mabel ("Pete") Orleman (d.1983). They had one son.

Publications

* Nolan, Thomas B. "Late Paleozoic positive area in Nevada". American Journal of Science, vol.16, no.92, pp. 153–161, Aug 1928 * Nolan, T B. "Potash brines in the Great Salt Lake Desert, Utah". USGS Bulletin 0795-B, pp. 25–44, 1928 * Nolan, Thomas B. "Report on El Guineo and Matrullas dam sites, Toro Negro Project, Porto Rico". USGS Open-File Report No. 559 (1928) * Nolan, Thomas B. "Gold Hill mining district, Utah", USGS Professional Paper No. 177 (1935) * Nolan, Thomas Brennan and Johnston, W.D. Jr. "Methods of constructing block diagrams for use in mining geology". Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 194–195, Mar 1937 * Nolan, Thomas Brennan.
The Basin and Range province in Utah, Nevada, and California
. USGS Professional Paper 197-D. (1942). * Nolan, Thomas Brennan "The search for new mining districts". Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists, vol.45, no.7, pp. 601–608, Nov 1950 * Nolan, Thomas B. Merriam, C.W., Williams, J.S.
Stratigraphic section in the vicinity of Eureka, Nevada
. USGS Professional Paper No. 276 (1956) * Miesch, Alfred T. and Nolan, Thomas B.
Geochemical prospecting studies in the Bullwhacker mine area, Eureka district, Nevada
. USGS Bulletin 1000-H (1958) * Nolan, Thomas Brennan. "The place of geology in the development of the mining industry". Mines Magazine, vol.50, no.2, pp. 20–22, 1960 * Nolan, Thomas B.
The Eureka mining district, Nevada
. USGS Professional Paper No. 406 (1962)

References

Additional sources

U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior * Robinson, S.C., Evans, H.T., Jr., Schaller, W.T. and Fahey, J.J. (1957) Nolanite, a new iron-vanadium mineral from Beaverlodge, Saskatchewan. American Mineralogist, 42, 619–628. * Stewart, David B. "Memorial of Thomas Brennan Nolan, 1901–1992". American Mineralogist, vol. 79, no. 5–6, pp. 575–576, Jun 1994

External links

Portrait of Thomas Brennan Nolan
via the

US 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 ...

Photograph of Thomas Brennan Nolan
via the US Geological Survey

mineralogical information