JOSEPH HENRY AND GEOLOGY AT PRINCETON

Abstract

ABSTRACT The first documented geology lectures at Princeton were given in 1825 by John Finch (circa 1790–circa 1835), an English visitor to the United States. In the 1830s, John Torrey (1796–1873) delivered a few geology and mineralogy lectures at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), but Joseph Henry (1797–1878), Professor of Natural Philosophy at the College of New Jersey from 1832 to 1848, introduced the first repeated geology course. In the 1830s, the College of New Jersey instituted a handful of short courses on topics outside of the regular curriculum. Geology was assigned to Henry, owing to his geological experience with Amos Eaton (1776–1842) along the recently opened Erie Canal. Henry taught geology for the first time in August 1841, repeated the course in 1843, 1846, and 1847, and probably also in 1844, 1845, 1850, and 1851. Henry typically focused on geophysical aspects of Earth, such as internal heat and Laplace's nebular hypothesis. He also discussed the geologic time scale from Primitive to Alluvium and Diluvium with descriptions of rock types and fossil content of each group. The final lecture was normally devoted to paleontology. Henry relied on Eaton and Edward Hitchcock (1793–1864) for much of his information and took advantage of published cross-sections to explain structural features. The content and timing of the various offerings is reconstructed from Henry's various lecture notes, dated correspondence, and three student notebooks. The impact of Henry's course on students, himself, and the Smithsonian Institution is evaluated.