Jules Marcou | |
|---|---|
-Portrait-Portr_09635.tif_(cropped).jpg) Jules Marcouc. 1880 | |
| Born | (1824-04-20)April 20, 1824 |
| Died | April 17, 1898(1898-04-17) (aged 73) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality | French, Swiss and American |
| Occupation | Geologist |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Collège Saint Louis |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Sorbonne Polytechnic School of Zurich Museum of Comparative Zoology |
Jules Marcou (April 20, 1824 – April 17, 1898) was a French-Swiss-American[1][2] geologist.
He was born inSalins, in thedépartement ofJura, inFrance. He was educated atBesançon and at the Collège Saint Louis,Paris.[2] After completing his studies, he made several trips through Switzerland to recover his health. These travels led him to devote himself to natural science.[3] During these travels, he metJules Thurmann (1804–1855), who introduced him toLouis Agassiz.[4]
During 1845, he worked with Thurmann on ageological survey of theJura mountains. He was appointed assistant of the mineralogical department of theSorbonne in 1846, and also classified its collection of fossils.[3] During this time, he conducted geological investigations in various parts of Europe.[1] In 1847 he went toNorth America as traveling geologist for theJardin des Plantes, charged with studying the United States and the English possessions in North America. The next year, he joined Agassiz inBoston, and accompanied him to theLake Superior region, visiting the copper mines of theKeweenaw Peninsula,Lake Huron, andNiagara. After six months, he returned toCambridge, Massachusetts, and sent minerals he had collected to Paris.[3]
In January 1849, Marcou directed his attention to the geology ofNew Jersey,Pennsylvania, andVirginia. Later he crossed theAllegheny Mountains, visiting theMammoth Cave and other localities, and then traversedCanada.[3] He returned to Europe for a short time in 1850. In 1853 he published aGeological Map of the United States, and the British Provinces of North America.[2] In 1853 he was hired by the United States government to serve as a geologist for thePacific Railroad Survey along the 35th parallel, one of a series of explorations of the American West to find possible routes for a transcontinental railroad. In this role he became the first geologist to cross the United States. He subsequently made ageological section extending from theMississippi River to thePacific Ocean.[3]
In 1855 he became professor of geology andpalaeontology at thepolytechnic school ofZürich, but relinquished this office in 1859. HisLettres sur les roches du Jura et leur distribution géographique dans les deux hémisphères (published 1857...1860) included one of the earliest proposals that aland bridge had once existed between the Old World and New World.
In 1861 again returned to the United States, when he assistedLouis Agassiz in initiating theMuseum of Comparative Zoology,[2] and was in charge of its palaeontological division from 1860 to 1864. Subsequently, he devoted himself to scientific research until 1875, when he again began service for the United States government,[3] and accompanied theWheeler Survey toSouthern California.[5]
Jules Marcou married Jane Belknap of Boston in 1850. They had two children.[5] He died inCambridge, Massachusetts, in 1898[2] and was interred there inMount Auburn Cemetery.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marcou, Jules".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 693.