Walter Curran Mendenhall | |
|---|---|
 Mendenhall, the fifth director ofUSGS for 14 years, 1930–1943 | |
| 5th Director of the United States Geological Survey | |
| In office 1930 (1930) – 1943 (1943) | |
| Preceded by | George Otis Smith |
| Succeeded by | William Embry Wrather |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1871-02-20)February 20, 1871 Marlboro, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | June 2, 1957(1957-06-02) (aged 86) Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S. |
| Scientific career | |
| Alma mater | Ohio Normal University |
| Awards | Penrose Gold Medal, 1944 |
| Fields | Geology,hydrology |
| Institutions | US Geological Survey |
Walter Curran Mendenhall (February 20, 1871 – June 2, 1957) was the fifth director of theUnited States Geological Survey.
Mendenhall was born inMarlboro, Ohio to William King Mendenhall and Emma P. Garrigues. He graduated fromOhio Normal University. He married Alice May Boutelle (born 1876); the couple had two daughters, Margaret Boutelle Mendenhall (born 1916) and Alice Curran Mendenhall (born 1918).
He was a distant relation ofThomas Corwin Mendenhall, superintendent of theUnited States Coast and Geodetic Survey.[citation needed]
In December 1930, Hoover appointedGeorge Otis Smith to the newly reorganizedFederal Power Commission and then appointed Mendenhall to succeed Smith as director of theUnited States Geological Survey, honoring not only a commitment to appoint the heads of scientific agencies from within theU.S. federal civil service but also a commitment to supportbasic research. Mendenhall and Smith were both 59 years old. Mendenhall had joined the Survey in 1894, fresh fromOhio Normal University, and had mapped in theAppalachiancoal fields. In 1898, he had been one of the pioneergeologists inAlaska and was attached to expeditions crossing the Alaska Range. He was among the first non-native people to crossIsabel Pass.[1] In 1903 he had become one of the firstground-water specialists in the Water Resources Branch.[citation needed]
An early member of the Land Classification Board, Mendenhall became its chairman in 1911, and in 1912 he became the first chief of the Land Classification Branch. For eight years before becoming director, he had been the chief geologist. Although more than half his surveying career had been in administrative work, he had made notable contributions to the study of thegeology of Alaska, and his study of the principles in ground-waterhydrology had helped to establish it as a field of scientific endeavor. King, Powell, Walcott, and Mendenhall all were members of theUnited States National Academy of Sciences.[2]
A year after Mendenhall became director, theUnited States Government cut its budget sharply as theUnited States began to feel the effects of theGreat Depression. The appropriations were not restored to earlier levels until the late 1930s, shortly before the outbreak ofWorld War II, but the Survey subsisted, even grew, on funds transferred from agencies theFranklin D. Roosevelt administration formed to combat the Great Depression. TheTennessee Valley Authority, established in May 1933, turned to the Survey to meet its need for maps of the entireTennessee Valley and for a much-expanded program ofstream gauging throughout thebasin.[citation needed]
In 1943, as the U.S. Government began planning for the post-World War II era, Director Mendenhall, who had served two years beyond the mandatory retirement age bypresidential exemption, was succeeded by William Embry Wrather.[3][4]
Mendenhall's directorate was pivotal in the history of the Geological Survey. In spite of the difficult times — the Great Depression years and the beginning of World War II — in which he held the position, he encouraged the Survey, as he had the Geologic Branch, to emphasize the necessity of basic research and created an environment in which, in the words of theEngineering and Mining Journal, "scientific research, technical integrity, and practical skill could flourish."[citation needed]
Mendenhall died inChevy Chase,Maryland, in 1957.
| Preceded by | Director of theUnited States Geological Survey 1930–1943 | Succeeded by |
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