Mineralogist and geologist, born in Utica, New York, USA. He studied at Yale, and was a scientific observer on the US exploring expedition under Charles Wilkes (183842), visiting the Antarctic and Pacific. With his father-in-law, Benjamin Silliman (17791864), he edited the American Journal of Science from 1840, and became professor of natural history (184964) and geology (186490) at Yale.
James Dwight Dana (February 12, 1813–April 14, 1895) was an American geologist, mineralogist and zoologist.
Early life and career
Dana was born in Utica, New York.
In 1836 and 1837 he was assistant to Professor Silliman in the chemical laboratory at Yale, and then, for four years, acted as mineralogist and geologist of the United States Exploring Expedition, commanded by Captain Charles Wilkes, in the Pacific Ocean. Dana's sketch of Mount Shasta was engraved in 1849 for publication in the American Journal of Science and Arts (which Silliman had founded in 1818), along with a lengthy article based on Dana's 1841 geological notes.
In 1844 he again became a resident of New Haven, and married Professor Silliman's daughter, Henrietta Frances Silliman. In 1850, he was appointed as Silliman's successor, as Silliman Professor of Natural History and Geology in Yale College, a position which he held until 1892. In 1846 he became joint editor, and during the later years of his life was chief editor, of the American Journal of Science and Arts, to which he was a constant contributor, principally of articles on geology and mineralogy.
The 1849 publication of his geology of Mount Shasta was undoubtedly a response to the gold rush publicity. Dana was the pre-eminent U.S. geologist of his time, and he also was one of the few trained observers anywhere who had first hand knowledge of the northern California terrain.
Dana's son, Edward Salisbury Dana (1849-1935) was also a distinguished mineralogist.
Publications
Dana's best known books were his System of Mineralogy (1837), his Manual of Mineralogy (1848), and his Manual of Geology (1862). In 1887, Dana revisited the Hawaiian Islands, and the results of his further investigations were published in a quarto volume entitled Characteristics of Volcanoes (1890).
The Manual of Mineralogy by J. Dana became a standard college text, and has been continuously revised and updated by a succession of editors including W.
Dana's System of Mineralogy has also been revised, the 6th edition (1892) being edited by his son E. Dana. A 7th edition was published in 1944, and the 8th edition was published in 1997 under the title Dana's New Mineralogy, edited by R.
Awards
Dana was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society in 1877, the Wollaston Medal by the Geological Society of London in 1874 and the Clarke Medal by the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1882.
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