Edward Hitchcock | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 24, 1793 |
| Died | February 27, 1864(1864-02-27) (aged 70) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Deerfield Academy |
| Spouse | Orra White Hitchcock |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geology Natural history |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | E.Hitchc. |
Edward Hitchcock (May 24, 1793 – February 27, 1864) was an Americangeologist and the third President ofAmherst College (1845–1854).
Born to poor parents, he attended newly foundedDeerfield Academy, where he was later principal, from 1815 to 1818. In 1821 he was ordained as aCongregationalist pastor and served as pastor of the Congregational Church inConway, Massachusetts, 1821–1825. He left the ministry to become Professor of Chemistry andNatural History at Amherst College. He held that post from 1825 to 1845, serving as Professor ofNatural Theology and Geology from 1845 until his death in 1864. In 1845, Hitchcock became President of the College, a post he held until 1854. As president, Hitchcock was responsible for Amherst's recovery from severe financial difficulties. He is also credited with developing the college's scientific resources and establishing its reputation for scientific teaching.
In addition to his positions at Amherst, Hitchcock was a well-known early geologist. He ran the first geological survey ofMassachusetts, and in 1830 was appointed state geologist of Massachusetts (he held the post until 1844). He also played a role in the geological surveys of New York andVermont. His chief project, however, was natural theology, which attempted to unify and reconcile science and religion, focusing on geology. His major work in this area wasThe Religion of Geology and Its Connected Sciences (1851). In this book, he sought out ways to re-interpret the Bible to agree with the latest geological theories. For example, knowing that the earth was at least hundreds of thousands of years old, vastly older than the 6,000 years allowed by certain biblical interpretations, Hitchcock devised a way to read the original Hebrew so that a single letter in Genesis—a "v", meaning "afterwards"—implied the vast timespans during which the earth was formed. Randy Moore described Hitchcock as "America's leading advocate ofcatastrophism-based gap creationism."[1]
Hitchcock left his mark inpaleontology. He discovered some of the first fossil fishes in the United States.[2] He published papers on fossilizedtracks in theConnecticut Valley, includingEubrontes andOtozoum, that were later associated with dinosaurs, though he believed, with a certain prescience, that they were made by gigantic ancient birds. In theHitchcock Ichnological Cabinet he established a remarkable collection of fossil footmarks. His son,Edward "Doc" Hitchcock Jr., named one of the earliest dinosaurs discovered in North America and the United States,Megadactylus polyzelus. Later it wasreclassified as thetype specimen ofAnchisaurus polyzelus (ACM 41109), aprosauropod. This botanist is denoted by theauthor abbreviationE.Hitchc. whenciting abotanical name.[3][4]
As he had researched thegeologic lake which once filled the Connecticut River basin, this prehistoric lake was named after him. Since he had done geological research on theHolyoke Range, one of the mountains there,Mount Hitchcock, was named after him.[5]
He was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1834.[6] From 1856 to 1861, Hitchcock was the State Geologist for Vermont.[7]
In 1841, he was elected as a member to theAmerican Philosophical Society.[8]
His collections, a bust and portrait can be viewed at theAmherst College Museum of Natural History. The Archives and Special Collections at Amherst holds his papers.[9]
In 1821, he marriedOrra White, one of the earliest women botanical and scientific illustrators in the U.S. The two worked closely together, and she contributed more than 1,000 illustrations to his many scientific publications.
He inserted a paleontological chart in hisElementary Geology (1840). It shows a branching diagram of the plant and animal kingdom against a geological background. He referred to it as a tree. This "tree of life" is the earliest known version that incorporates paleontological and geological information.[10]
Hitchcock was an advocate ofgap creationism.[11] Hitchcock saw God as the agent of change. He explicitly rejectedevolution and a religioussix-day creation. He believed that new species were introduced by a deity at the right time in the history of the earth.[10] The chart is present in all editions between 1840 and 1859. AfterCharles Darwin (1859) published hisOn the Origin of Species, a tree of life image was generally interpreted as an evolutionary tree. In the 1860 edition ofElementary Geology Hitchcock dropped the chart. In 1863 Hitchcock wrote an article in which he criticized Darwin’s theory ofnatural selection. After his death in 1864, his sonCharles Henry Hitchcock (1836–1919) published a new edition (1870) also without a paleontological chart. Charles then published books and articles of his own.[12]
| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President ofAmherst College 1845–1854 | Succeeded by |
