Arnold Henry Guyot (born Sept. 28, 1807, Boudevilliers, nearNeuchâtel, Switz.—died Feb. 8, 1884,Princeton, N.J., U.S.) was a Swiss-born American geologist, geographer, and educator whoseextensive meteorological observations led to the founding of theU.S. Weather Bureau. Theguyot, a flat-topped volcanic peak rising from the ocean floor, is named after him.

He studied at the College of Neuchâtel and in Germany, taught at Paris from 1835 to 1840, and became professor of history and physicalgeography at the Neuchâtel Academy in 1839. In 1838, under the influence of the famed naturalist-geologist LouisAgassiz, he took up the study of the structure and motion of glaciers.

In 1848 Guyot settled inCambridge, Mass., and until 1854 lectured on geography and teaching methods for the Massachusetts Board of Education. He wrote a series of geography textbooks that served as models of the kind used in American schools for many years. In 1854 he became professor ofgeology and physical geography atPrinceton University. Guyot developed topographical maps of the Appalachian and Catskill mountains. His published works includeThe Earth and Man (Eng. trans., 1849);Creation, or the Biblical Cosmogony in the Light of Modern Science (1884); andTables, Meteorological and Physical (4th ed., 1887).

Britannica Quiz

The Solid Earth Quiz