George Otis Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theFederal Power Commission | |
| In office December 22, 1930 – October 31, 1933 | |
| President | Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| 4th Director of the United States Geological Survey | |
| In office 1907 (1907) – 1930 (1930) | |
| Preceded by | Charles Doolittle Walcott |
| Succeeded by | Walter Curran Mendenhall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1871-02-22)February 22, 1871 Hodgdon, Maine, US |
| Died | January 10, 1944(1944-01-10) (aged 72) Augusta, Maine, US |
| Signature |  |
| Scientific career | |
| Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University Colby College |
| Awards | Charles P. Daly Medal (1920) |
| Fields | Petrography,geology |
| Institutions | US Geological Survey |
| Thesis | The geology of the Fox Islands, Maine. A contribution to the study of old volcanics (1896) |
George Otis Smith (February 22, 1871 – January 10, 1944) was an Americangeologist.
Smith was born inHodgdon, Maine. He graduated fromColby College in 1893 and earned a Ph.D. fromJohns Hopkins University in 1896.[1][2] He served as the fourth director ofUnited States Geological Survey from 1907 to 1922 and 1923 to 1930.[3] He also served as the first chairman of theFederal Power Commission underHerbert Hoover from 1930 to 1933. Smith died inAugusta, Maine.[4]
Smith was the Geologist-in-charge of the Section of Petrography of the Geologic Branch, succeededCharles Doolittle Walcott as Director in May 1907 and continued as Director until December 1930. Smith had joined the Survey after receiving his doctorate fromJohns Hopkins University in 1896, and he was barely 36 years old when he was appointed director. His Survey career had not been particularly distinguished, but he had come to the attention of the new Secretary of the Interior,James R. Garfield, in 1906 when Smith had served as chairman of one of the subcommittees of a Presidential commission that sought to put the operation of Government agencies on a modern businesslike basis. Smith was particularly interested in a business policy for the public domain. He also believed that the work of the Survey should be primarily although not exclusively practical.
After the great coal strike in 1922, a Coal Commission was established to study the problems of the industry and to aid Congress on legislation that would ensure the Nation of an adequate supply of coal. Director Smith was a member of the Commission, and the Geological Survey's resource data provided the basis for much of the Commission's report. In 1924, Smith unsuccessfully urged resumption of coal research in much the same terms as Walcott had used in 1898. Director Smith also served as Chairman of a three-man commission appointed by PresidentCalvin Coolidge in March 1924, after theTeapot Dome scandal, to study the efficient management of the naval petroleum reserves, and as Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the Cabinet-levelFederal Oil Conservation Board established in December 1924 to reappraise Federal oil policies.
In the fall of 1929, the firstHoover budget called for increased funds for scientific agencies, including $100,000 for fundamental research in geologic sciences, the first substantial increase in Federal funds for geologic investigations since 1915. In the spring of 1930, Congress appropriated $2.87 million for the Geological Survey and also appropriated funds for the expenses of a commission on the conservation and administration of the public domain. In December 1930, Hoover appointed Smith as chairman of the newly reorganizedFederal Power Commission. (Walter Curran Mendenhall was appointed to succeed Smith as Director of the Geological Survey.)[5]
In January 1931 the Senate purported to reconsider its consent to the appointment of Smith, and other members of the Commission, because it did not approve of their choice of subordinates.[6] President Hoover did not recognise the Senate's authority to withdraw its consent to the appointment of officials after they had been commissioned. In May 1932 theUS Supreme Court held that the appointments were effective.[7] Smith served until 1933.
| Preceded by | Director of theUnited States Geological Survey 1907–1930 | Succeeded by |
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