ABSTRACT
Dana, James Dwight (1813-95). American scientist. Born in Utica, New York, Dana was educated at the Charles Bartlett Academy, Utica, where he showed early promise in the sciences. He entered Yale in 1830, leaving three years later to enlist as an instructor in mathematics in the navy. Appointed assistant to Benjamin Silliman, professor of Natural History, Yale, 1836-8, when he joined a South Sea expedition as geologist and mineralogist, returning to the United States in 1842. Dana had jointly written a book with Silliman, System of Mineralogy (1837), and major publications with his own illustrations arising out of the expedition: Report on Zoophytes (1846), Report on the Geology of the Pacific (1849) and Report on Crustacea (1852-4). When Silliman retired in 1849, Dana was appointed professor of Natural History at Yale, but did not take up the post until 1855. The title of the chair was changed to professor of Geology and Mineralogy in 1864. During his 44 years at Yale, Dana made an impressive teacher and demanded high standards from his students. His researches in his chosen fields were of a high order, and his two textbooks, System of Mineralogy (1837) and Textbook of Geology (1864), both passed through many editions. In spite of ill-health, Dana continued to write carefully researched books during the rest of his life, including Corals and Coral Islands (1872) and Characteristics of Volcanoes (1890), the latter at the age of 77. Editor, American Journal of Science, 1846-95. Dana was awarded many honours, among which were the Wollaston medal by the Geological Society of London, 1872, the Copley medal by the Royal Society, 1877, and the Walker prize by the Boston Society of Natural History, 1892. Fellow of the Royal Society, London, and the Royal Academies of Berlin, Vienna and St. Petersburg. President, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1854. Dana died at the age of 82 at New Haven, Connecticut, in 1895. See Gilman, D.C., The Life of James Dwight Dana (1899); Pirsson, L.V., Biographical Memoir of James Dwight Dana (1919).
