Charles Whitman Cross

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Charles Whitman Cross
Born(1854-09-01)September 1, 1854
Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedApril 20, 1949(1949-04-20) (aged 94)
Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materAmherst College; Leipzig University
Scientific career
FieldsPetrology
InstitutionsUnited States Geological Survey
Doctoral advisorFerdinand Zirkel

Charles Whitman Cross (September 1, 1854 – April 20, 1949) was an American

CIPW norm that is still used in normative mineralogy
. He was also active in scientific societies and institutions.

Early life and education

Cross was born September 1, 1854, in

Ph.D. in 1880.[1]

Career

After completing his Ph.D., Cross returned to the United States and began a career with the

Denver, Colorado, after which he moved to Washington, D.C.,[2] where he headed the Survey's petrology section.[5]

Research

Cross was a

petrologist, and much of his field work focused on rocks. Most of this was done in Colorado, in rugged terrain with few roads. His greatest work was on the San Juan Mountains beginning in 1895. He also worked in the Leucite Hills of Wyoming and in Hawaii.[1]

Besides his substantial field work, Cross was known for his pioneering research in

CIPW norm, after their initials. Published in a 1903 book, their method was more quantitative than previous approaches and introduced a novel nomenclature system. While other petrologists generally judged their nomenclature to be too detailed and cumbersome, they embraced the quantitative approach of calculating a "norm" based on a rock's chemical composition, and the CIPW norm remains a staple of petrology.[6]

Other professional activities

Cross helped organize the

Carnegie Institution of Washington to establish its Geophysical Laboratory.[1] In 1910 he organized the Petrologists' Club, whose first meetings took place in his home.[3]

Cross was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1908 and was its treasurer from 1911 to 1919.[7] he was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1915.[8] He was a member of the Geological Society of America and was its president in 1918.[1][9][10] In 1925, his alma mater Amherst College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree.[3]

Personal life

On November 7, 1895, Cross married Virginia Stevens, daughter of Moses T. Stevens.[2] They had one child, a son.[3]

Death and legacy

Cross died April 20, 1949,[1] in Chevy Chase, Maryland.[4] At the time of his death he was the oldest member of the National Academy of Sciences and the oldest living alumnus of Amherst College.[1]

Crossite is named in his honor.[4]

Bibliography

  • Cross, Whitman; Iddings, Joseph P.; Pirsson, Louis V.; Washington, Henry S. (1903). Quantitative Classification of Igneous Rocks. University of Chicago Press.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Larsen, Montague, and Yoder say Amherst;[1][2][3] Wilson says Southampton, Massachusetts.[4]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Larsen 1958.
  2. ^ a b c d Montague 1901.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Yoder 2008.
  4. ^ a b c Wilson 1854–1949.
  5. ^ Young 2003, p. 242.
  6. ^ Young 2003, pp. 240–53.
  7. ^ "Charles W. Cross". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  8. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  9. ^ Fairchild, Herman LeRoy, 1932, The Geological Society of America 1888-1930, a Chapter in Earth Science History: New York, The Geological Society of America, 232 p.
  10. ISBN 0-8137-1155-X
    .

References
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