Orville Adalbert Derby
Orville Adalbert Derby (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɔʁviw ˈdɛʁbi]; July 23, 1851 in Kelloggsville, New York[1] – November 27, 1915) was an American geologist who worked in Brazil.
Education
Derby studied
Brazil
When Hartt organized the first Geological Commission of the Empire of Brazil, Derby was nominated as its assistant and returned to Brazil in December 1875. In 1877, with the end of the Commission, Derby decided to stay in Brazil and accepted a post at the
Derby worked in many domains of the geological sciences, such as
Publications
He published 173 papers on the geology of Brazil from 1873 to 1915. He was also the publisher of one of the first geological maps of Brazil, in 1915.
Personal life and death
Derby never married and led a solitary existence, living mostly in hotel rooms. After the failure of an invitation by the state government of Bahia, he returned to Rio de Janeiro and committed suicide in a hotel room, on November 27, 1915, a few months after gaining Brazilian citizenship.[2] He was 64 years old. After Derby's unexpected death, staff of the survey realised that they did not have any recent picture of him. They dispatched some men to Derby's hotel room, where they cleaned him up, sat him in a chair and photographed him, holding his eyes open with matchsticks.[3]
References
- Who's Who in America(1901-1902 edition); p. 296
- ^ "Ends His Life in Brazil". The Washington Post. Rio de Janeiro. November 30, 1915. p. 4. Retrieved March 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lewis, Cherry. "The 11 medals of Arthur Holmes". Retrieved February 27, 2024.
Further reading
- Diniz Gonsalves, A., 1952 – Orville A. Derby's Studies on the Paleontology of Brazil – Published under the direction of the Executive Commission for the 1st Centenary Commemorating the birth of Orville A. Derby, and sponsored by the American Embassy in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro, 1952.