Sydney H. Ball
Sydney H. Ball | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 11, 1877 University of Wisconsin |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Spouse | Eleanor Moffatt |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Mining engineering, geology |
| Practice name | Rogers, Mayer & Ball |
| Significant advance | Discovery of the Congo-Angola diamond field |
Sydney Hobart Ball (December 11, 1877 – April 3, 1949) was an American geologist and mining engineer. Educated at the
Early life and career
Ball was born in
In the Congo
In 1907 Ball left the USGS and was appointed to the 1908 Ryan-Guggenheim Expedition (also known as the "Mission de Recherches Minières"), a rubber and mineral prospecting expedition funded by Thomas Fortune Ryan and Daniel Guggenheim.[8][9] Ball, with United States explorer Richard Mohun and mining engineer Alfred Chester Beatty, were tasked with finding deposits of gold, copper and coal in the Forminière concession in the Belgian Congo.[10][11][1]
Late in 1907 the party came under attack by a force of flintlock-armed cannibals and, with the assistance of a 25-strong unit of Belgian native soldiers, repelled the attack—inflicting 125 dead for the loss of five native porters.[9] The incident became known locally as the "Battle of Ball's Run".[11] A further attack in January 1908 was more successful, causing the party to flee the area temporarily.[12]
Later life
The expedition ended in 1909, by which time it had uncovered valuable diamond deposits at Tshikapa (the first discovery of the vast Congo-Angola diamond field), the first such to be located in the country, and recommended the mineral-rich Kasai region to Forminière for further investigation.[8][13][1][11] The discovery of diamonds opened a new source of revenue for the colony and many subsequent American expeditions were carried out in search of further deposits.[11]
Ball co-authored Economic Geology of the Belgian congo, Central Africa in 1914 and co-founded Rogers, Mayer & Ball consulting engineers in 1917, of which he remained a member until his death. In 1931 he published a paper in Economic Geology on the history of gem mining.[14] Ball worked as a consultant mineralogist to the United States Bureau of Mines and, from 1942 to 1944, served as a mining consultant to the War Production Board. He died on April 3, 1949, in New York City.[1] His work on Roman precious stones was published posthumously by the Gemological Institute of America in 1950.[15]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-313-25887-2.
- ^ Hobbs, William Herbert (1909). "The Geological Engineer". The Michigan Technic. 22–24.
- ^ "Black Diamonds Chipped From Coal, Worn By Indians". The Pittsburgh Press. February 21, 1933.
- ^ "Contributions to economic geology, 1906, Part I, Metals and nonmetals except fuels; Copper—Copper deposits of the Hartville Uplift, Wyoming". Bulletin 315-B. US geological Service.
- ISBN 9780520908888.
- ^ "A Geologic Reconnaissance in Southwestern Nevada and Eastern California". Internet Archive. Govt. Print. Off. 1907.
- ^ "Economic Geology of the Georgetown Quadrangle (together with the Empire District) Colorado / By Josiah Edward Spurr and George H. Garrey. With general geology by Sydney H. Ball". Abe Books. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ a b "Inventaris Van Het Archief Richard Mohun" (PDF). Royal Museum for Central Africa (Belgium) (in Dutch). Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ a b "125 Cannibals Slain in Attack on Explorers" (PDF). New York Herald. January 5, 1908.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Marcosson, Isaac Frederick (1921), An African Adventure, Norwood, Massachusetts: Plimpton Press, pp. 244–246
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cuypers, Ed L. (1956), Forminière: 1906–1956 (in French), p. 79
- .
- ^ "A Roman book on precious stones: Including an English modernization of the 37th booke of the Historie of the world by C. Plinius Secundas". Abe Books. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
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