Siemon William Muller | |
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| Born | (1900-05-09)May 9, 1900 |
| Died | September 9, 1970(1970-09-09) (aged 70) |
| Citizenship | American |
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| Institutions | Stanford University |
Siemon William Muller (May 9, 1900 – September 9, 1970) was an American paleontologist and geologist, known for his studies onTriassic paleontology andstratigraphy, and for his work onpermafrost.[1]
Siemon Muller was born inBlagoveshchensk on May 9, 1900 (Muller's father Wilhelm had moved from Denmark to Russia to work on the trans-Siberian telegraph line and later became a teacher). Siemon attended theRussian Naval Academy until theRussian Revolution overtook the nation, when he moved toShanghai to work with an American company. He sailed to the United States in 1921, and enrolled at theUniversity of Oregon, where he studied geology. He graduated in 1927, and married Vera Vilamovsky the next year. Muller earned his master's degree fromStanford University in 1929, and his doctorate in 1930, studyingMesozoicammonite fauna in thePilot Mountains of Nevada under the direction ofJames Perrin Smith. Muller began teaching as an instructor at Stanford while still a graduate student. He was named an assistant professor in 1930, was promoted to associate professor in 1936 (the year of his election as fellow of theGeological Society of America), and became full professor in 1941.[1][2]
In 1928, Muller made an initial identification of theichthyosaur fossils found nearBerlin, Nevada, although full excavations were not done until much later.[3] Before and after World War II, Muller worked extensively withHenry G. Ferguson doing geological mapping in west-central Nevada (along withRalph Roberts and Stanley H. Cathcart); this resulted in the publication of seven USGS geology quadrangle maps between 1951 and 1954.[1] During World War II, Muller worked for the USGSMilitary Geology Unit,[4] where he studied frozen terrains such as Alaska; his Russian language skills enabled him to read the extensive Russian scientific literature on the subject.[1] Muller is generally credited with coining the word "permafrost".[1][5]
In 1976, Muller Mountain in Mineral County, Nevada, was named after Siemon Muller to commemorate his work in the area.[6]
Upon Muller's retirement from Stanford in 1965, he was granted emeritus status. On September 9, 1970, he died quietly in his sleep at the Stanford campus.[1]
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