WM. BULLOCK CLARK, PH. D., LL.D.

STATE GEOLOGIST 1896-1917

The State of Maryland has suffered a great loss through the death of Dr. Wm. Bullock Clark, State Geologist, which occurred unexpectedly at Stonecrop, his summer home at North Haven, Maine, on July 27, 1917.

Wm. Bullock Clark was born at Brattleboro, Vermont, December 15, 1860. His parents were Barna A. and Helen (Bullock) Clark. Among his early ancestors were Thomas Clark, who came to Plymouth, Mass., in the ship Ann in 1623 and who was several times elected deputy to the general court of Plymouth Colony; Richard Bullock, who came to Salem, Mass., in 1643; John Howland, a member of council, assistant to the governor, and several times deputy to the general court of Plymouth Colony, who came to Plymouth in the Mayflower in 1620; John Tilly who likewise came in the Mayflower; and John Gorham, captain of Massachusetts troops in King Philip's War. Among the later ancestors were William Bullock, colonel of Massachusetts troops in the French and Indian War; and Daniel Stewart, a minuteman at the battle of Lexington in 1775.

As a youth Mr. Clark received his training under private tutors, and at the Brattleboro High School from which he was graduated in 1879. He entered Amherst College in the autumn of 1880, where he was inspired by Professor Emerson to specialize in geology. Immediately after completing his collegiate course in the spring of 1884 he went to Germany, where he devoted himself to geology and allied subjects under the direction of Professors Zittel, Groth, and Rothpletz. His Doctor's Dissertation on the geology around one of the picturesque lakes of the foothills of the Alps showed characteristics of his later work, especially the use of paleontology as an aid to geology, rather than as an end in itself. Receiving his degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1887, he supplemented his training by field work with members of the official surveys of Prussia and Great Britain.

Dr. Clark returned from Europe in the fall of 1887 and began his work at the Johns Hopkins University, where he advanced rapidly through the various academic grades to become professor of geology and head of the geological department in 1894. Under his leadership the high standards established by his predecessor, Professor George Huntington Williams, were maintained and the scope of the work greatly broadened by increases in the teaching staff and a co-ordination of the various branches of the rapidly expanding science of geology. As a student he acquired knowledge easily and showed keen discrimination and judgement in selection of the essential elements; as a teacher he inspired his students with high scholastic ideals and broad outlook, and furnished the opportunity for many to carry on extensive investigations under his supervision. At heart he was not a cloistered specialist but a publicist who enjoyed contact with people and was ever ready to place his knowledge as a specialist at the service of the public.

From 1888 when Dr. Clark received an appointment as assistant geologist on the U. S. Geological Survey, he has been more or less closely, though not always officially, connected with the work of that organization in his chosen field, the Coastal Plain of the Atlantic seaboard. Under its auspices he prepared a bulletin on the Eocene Deposits of America and monographs on the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Echinodermata of the United States. He was also associated with the work of all the State Geological Surveys from New York southward, furnishing reports for the volumes of the New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina organizations. The area of his chief work and that to which he gave most of his interest and energy was Maryland.

Professor Clark began his studies on the physical features of Maryland as soon as he settled in Baltimore in 1887, but his first official connection with the state was his appointment as Director of the State Weather Service in 1892, followed by his election as State Geologist in 1896, Executive Officer of the State Board of Forestry in 1906, and his appointment as a State Roads Commissioner in 1910. All of these positions, except the last, were held continuously until his death. In these several

capacities he was instrumental in collecting and disseminating a vast amount of new and accurate knowledge regarding the natural resources of the state and in promoting the present road system which has greatly facilitated their utilization. During Professor Clark's tenure of office as State Geologist the annual mineral production of the state has more than doubled, without any unusual discoveries or unhealthy promotion. His knowledge, ability, and gracious personality have been frequently utilized by his appointment as representative of the state. In 1900 by act of the general assembly Dr. Clark was appointed to represent the state in the resurvey of the Maryland-Pennsylvania boundary, commonly known as the Mason and Dixon Line. In 1908, he was an adviser to the governor at the White House Conference on Conservation. Among the better known official exhibits of Maryland's mineral resources were those made at the Buffalo, Charleston, St. Louis, and San Francisco expositions. These exhibits, which attracted attention at the time and received a large number of conspicuous awards, are now permanently installed in the State House at Annapolis.

Not the least among the services rendered to the state by Professor Clark are those given to help improve the physical well-being of its sick and dependent. For 16 years Dr. Clark was the president of the Henry Watson Children's Aid Society. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Maryland Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, as well as vice-president and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Alliance of Charitable Agencies of Baltimore City.

The standing of Professor Clark among his scientific colleagues is attested by the character and scope of the societies to which he belonged and in which he held office. Among these are the National Academy of Science, of which he was chairman of the Geological Section, the American Philosophical Society, the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft, the Washington Academy of Science, Paleontologische Gesellschaft, Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was councillor and