HISTORY GROUPS CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARIES
PHILADELPHIA — October 20-25, 2006
The History of Geology Division of the Geological Society of America (HoG) and the History of Earth Sciences Society (HESS) are celebrating milestone anniversaries at the 2006 GSA meeting in Philadelphia.
The History of Geology Division/GSA
George W. White, University of Illinois, who had played a significant role in establishing the International Union of Geological Sciences' International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences (INHIGEO), was interested in getting a similar group started within GSA. White was joined in this effort by Cecil J. Schneer of the University of New Hampshire. The result of this joint effort was the creation of our History of Geology Division which was approved by the GSA Council in November 1976 at the annual meeting in Denver: "It is with real pleasure that the officers, Council, and headquarters staff welcome the newly established History of Geology Division." (John C. Frye, Executive Director, GSA; Division Newsletter, v. 1, no. 1, February 1977).
The stated purpose of the Division has changed little over the past 30 years:
"Purpose. The purpose of the division is to provide a suitable forum for presentation of papers on history of geology and discussion of problems of interest in the study of the history of geology and the development of the geological sciences, and to act as an organized group in promoting these objectives within the framework of the Geological Society of America." (Division By-Laws, February 1977).
The Division's first slate of officers, along with White and Schneer, are a representative of the forces behind the creation of the Division. The first officers were: Chair, Claude C. Albritton, Jr., Southern Methodist University; First Vice-Chair, C. Gordon Winder, University of Western Ontario; Second Vice-Chair, Robert H. Dott, Jr., University of Wisconsin; Secretary-Treasurer-Editor, Clifford M. Nelson, USGS. Please refer to the Division web site for a complete list of past officers.
Since that founding at the 1976 meeting, there has been at least one session, and often several sessions, devoted to the history of our science at each of the annual GSA meetings, and at many GSA Section meetings as well. It was a History of Geology Division session at a Northeastern Section meeting in 1980 that ultimately led to the creation of the History of Earth Sciences Society, which is now an Affiliated Society of GSA. The first publication of the D-NAG series was devoted to the history of geology in North America and was edited by Division members (Geologists and Ideas: A History of North American Geology: Eds. Ellen T. Drake and William M. Jordan, Centennial Special Volume No. 1, 1985). Many of the papers in the volume had been presented in Division sessions at GSA meetings.
One of the many highlights of Division activity was the March 19-21, 1994 GSA Penrose Conference, "From the Inside and the Outside: Inter-disciplinary Perspectives on the History of the Earth Sciences." The Conference was organized by L�o F. Laporte, Naomi Oreskes, and Kenneth L. Taylor, and held at the Kona Kai Resort on Shelter Island in San Diego, California. As the announcement described it, the idea was, "�to bring together people who write on the history of the earth sciences in order to discuss key methodological issues arising out of the different approaches taken in this field. A basic premise of the conference is that a deep schism separates the insider and outsider perspectives in the history of earth sciences." (Emphases in the original) [HoG Division Newsletter, v. 16, no. 2, (June 1993) p. 1]. In other words the scientist-historian and the historian of science did not always understand each other's point of view and the conveners hoped that this GSA Penrose Conference would bring people from these two worlds together for a few days to bridge the schism. And as conferences go, it was a real bargain; the estimated cost for registration, all meals, double occupancy room/per person, coffee breaks, and airport transportation was $525.00.
Part of the fascination of the Conference was trying to determine just who was an insider and who was an outsider. However, in all regards, the hopes of the conveners were realized and the Conference was a rousing success. Later it was reported that, "�a new spirit of understanding, enthusiasm, and cooperation was developed and that great progress can be expected in the future." [HoG Division Newsletter, v. 18, no. 1, July 1994, p. 1]. A new group, "Friends of GeoClio" was formed, a group bound by mutual interest in the history of earth sciences. It was agreed that there would be no officers and no dues. The Friends flourished for a while, even creating a web site clearinghouse for activities in the history of earth sciences. Although that web site was a very popular one, funding difficulties eventually forced it to close and the site was subsumed into the History of Geology web site. The "GeoClio" members who were active in the History of Science Society (HSS) were among the founding members of HSS's "Earth and Environmental Forum," which hears annual reports from HESS and HoG Division members. Those who were fortunate to attend this Conference remember it fondly and many feel that the time is right for another such gathering.
In 1982 the Division awarded its first History of Geology Award, which was "�created to recognize individual contributions of fundamental importance to the understanding of the history of the geological sciences." With the passing of a dear and long-time member, Mary C. Rabbitt (USGS) in 2002, the Division received a bequest from her estate and in 2005 the award was renamed The Mary C. Rabbitt History of Geology Award. There have been 25 honorees over the years, and Mary Rabbitt was the third recipient in 1984.
The Rabbitt bequest also provided the Division with the resources to create the Student Award in the History of Geology. The student awardee is invited to present his or her winning paper at the GSA annual meeting and there is a cash award of $500.00 to assist with the awardee's meeting expenses.
Because there are so many dedicated people who work behind the scenes to further the cause of the history of geology, in 2005 the Division created its Distinguished Service Award which recognizes, "�exceptional service in the advancement of our knowledge of the history of geological sciences." Robert N. Ginsburg, University of Miami, is the first recipient of this award which will be presented at the upcoming Philadelphia meeting.
History of Earth Sciences Society
At the Northeastern Section/GSA meeting in 1980, William M. Jordan, Millersville University, organized and chaired a symposium on the History of Geology in the Northeast. In the spring of 1981, many of the papers from that session were published in Northeastern Geology (v. 3, no. 1), which proved to be a very popular issue and all copies were sold before the end of that year. This heightened interest and enthusiasm led to discussion about a separate journal devoted exclusively to the history of the earth sciences; an idea championed by Gerald M. Friedman, then at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Director/Founder of the Northeastern Science Foundation (HoG Rabbitt Award 2005). There was continued discussions with members of the History of Geology Division/GSA, e.g., George W. White, and with non-members, some from overseas, including, Hugh S. Torrens (Keele University, UK), and Joan Eyles (Note, George White was the first recipient of the HoG Division's History of Geology Award and Hugh Torrens received the Award in 2000).
At the November 1981 Annual GSA meeting, a group of interested persons, Ellis L. Yochelson (HoG Award 2003), Claude C. Albritton, Jr. (HoG Award 1983), Michele L. Aldrich (HoG Award 1992), Douglas A. Bassett, and Walter O. Kupsch (HoG Award 2001), and led by Gerald M. Friedman (HoG Rabbitt Award 2005) and Sue Friedman, sought responses from various friends of the history of geology. Claude C. Albritton, Jr. presided over a small meeting in which the first constitution was drafted and Ellis L. Yochelson was designated to begin seeking the non-profit status application with the U. S. IRS. The result of this activity was the formal founding of the History of Earth Sciences Society (HESS) in 1982 with its primary function that of publishing Earth Sciences History. A complete list of officers can be found at the History of Geology Division/GSA's web site.
Due to its small membership at that time, there was some reluctance even to sponsoring meetings. But with the assistance of the Northeastern Science Foundation in Troy, New York, and the Pacific Division/AAAS, occasional HESS meetings, with field trips, were held and the papers from the symposia were published in the journal. The field trips provided the participants with not only a look at historically significant geological locations, such as the Helderbergs and Emmon's Line, but they, also, were shown the final resting places of some of the founders of North American geological understanding. The irony of seeing two bitter enemies, Ebenezer Emmons and James Hall, with strongly held opposing geological views, lying next to each other in their graves was not lost on the HESS group.
There was, also, even hesitance on the part of the membership to affiliate with a larger organization, such as the Geological Society of America, for fear this would weaken the international spirit of HESS. This fear proved to be ill-founded and in the Fall of 1999, through the combined effort of Kennard B. Bork, President of HESS, and Kenneth L. Taylor, Chair of HoG Division, HESS formally became an Associated Society of GSA. This has resulted in many joint sponsored programs at the Annual GSA meeting and has proven to be a benefit to both HESS and the HoG Division/GSA. HESS is now affiliated with the American Geological Institute and looks forward to future affiliations with other groups and organizations interested in the history of any aspect of the earth sciences.
One of the main functions of HESS is still the publication of the journal, Earth Sciences History, a journal which appeals to a wide range of scientists, historians, especially historians of science/geology, and archivists. Kennard B. Bork, Denison University and later a President of HESS (HoG Award 1997), was the first of many guest editors and he organized Volume 1, no. 1, published in 1982. Gerald M. Friedman (HoG Rabbitt Award 2005) was the founding editor and remained editor until 1993. He was followed by Mott Greene (University of Puget Sound) and Gregory Good (West Virginia University. Beginning in only its second year, Earth Sciences History moved to two issues per year. By 1987 the journal was reaching about 500 members and 100 institutions, and is now in volume 24, and the current editor is Patrick N. Wyse Jackson, at Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Even thought HESS received its non-profit [501 (C3)] status from the United States Internal Revenue Service, from its inception HESS has viewed itself as an international organization. HESS, by its very nature, has more international membership and scope than the HoG Division. And HESS is more broadly defined than the HoG Division in that HESS includes the history of all aspects of earth sciences, including oceanography and meteorology. Also, several past issues of the journal have been devoted to topics in the history of earth sciences in areas well beyond North America.
Make plans to join us at the Philadelphia meeting and help celebrate these two anniversaries.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I am indebted to the following, all of whom have better memories than I and they all have made valuable contributions to this article: Michele L. Aldrich, Kennard B. Bork, Robert H. Dott, Jr., Gerald M. Friedman, Alan Leviton, Clifford M. Nelson, Kenneth L. Taylor, Hugh S. Torrens, and Ellis L. Yochelson. My thanks to all for their help.