Richard Owen (geologist), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Richard Owen (geologist)

American geologist and soldier

Date of Birth: 06-Jan-1810

Place of Birth: Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 25-Mar-1890

Profession: naturalist, geologist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn


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About Richard Owen (geologist)

  • Richard Dale Owen (January 6, 1810 – March 25, 1890) was a Scottish-born geologist, natural scientist, educator, and American military officer who arrived in the United States in 1828 and settled at New Harmony, Indiana.
  • Owen, who was trained as a natural scientist and physician, served as an infantry officer in the U.S.
  • Army during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.
  • After the Civil War, Owen taught at Indiana University for fifteen years (1864–79) and chaired its natural science department.
  • While retaining his faculty position at IU, Owen also served as Purdue University's first president (1872–74).
  • During the interwar years, Owen taught natural science at the Western Military Institute in Kentucky and after its merger with the University of Nashville in Tennessee.
  • In addition, Owen assisted his brother, David Dale Owen, with early geological studies of the Northwest Territory.
  • In 1860 Richard Owen succeeded his brother to become Indiana's second state geologist.
  • His research interests included geology, meteorology, terrestrial magnetism, and seismology.
  • Owen authored scientific works that included geological surveys of several U.S.
  • states. As a colonel in the Union army's 60th Indiana Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War, Owen was appointed commander of Camp Morton, a prisoner-of-war camp for 4,000 Confederate soldiers at Indianapolis, Indiana.
  • Owen served from February to May 1862 and became well known and respected for his humanitarian treatment of its prisoners.
  • He returned to active duty in June 1862 and was captured and released by the Confederate army before he resigned from the military in December 1863.
  • A bronze bust was dedicated at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis in 1913 to recognize his leadership at Camp Morton during the war.
  • Buildings on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington and the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette are named in his honor.

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