John Strong Newberry papers

John Strong Newberry (1822-1892) was a geologist and Professor of Chemistry and Natural Science at Columbian College (the name changed to George Washington University in 1904). Newberry was born at Windsor, Connecticut on December 22, 1822; the son of Henry and Elizabeth (Strong) Newberry. His first ancestor in America, Thomas Newberry, emigrated from England in 1630, and settled in Quincy, Massachusetts.

The family moved to Windsor, Connecticut in 1636. His grandfather, General Roger Newberry, was a soldier in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War and a member of the Connecticut land company, which purchased the western reserve of Ohio from the state of Connecticut. John Newberry attended the Western Reserve academy and graduated from Western Reserve College (Hudson, Ohio) with an A.B. in 1846 and an A.M. in 1849. He also earned an M.D. (1848) from the Cleveland Medical school, and continued his medical studies in Paris from 1849 to 1850.

Newberry practiced medicine in Cleveland, Ohio from 1850 to 1855. During May of 1855, he was appointed assistant-surgeon and geologist in Lieutenant Williamson's exploration of the country between San Francisco and the Columbia river. He was geologist of the expedition under Lieutenant Joseph C. Ives, which explored the lower Colorado river from 1857 to 1858. He then accompanied the expedition under Captain J. N. Macomb, which explored the San Juan and upper Colorado rivers in 1859.

In 1861, Newberry was assigned to duty in the war department; however, in June he became connected with the sanitary commission. In September he was appointed secretary of the western branch of the commission. He directed the sanitary operations in the Mississippi valley and was present at the Battle of Chattanooga, Tennessee in November 23-25, 1863. He returned to Washington, D.C. in 1863 and was connected with the Smithsonian Institution. He was professor at the Columbian College from 1856 to 1857; professor of geology and paleontology at the School of Mines of Columbia College, New York from 1866 to 1892, and was made professor emeritus in 1892. He was director of the State geological survey of Ohio from 1869 to 1882, and a member of the Illinois and New Jersey geological surveys.

Newberry married Sarah B., daughter of Erastus F. and Lucetta (Cleveland) Gaylordin, in Cleveland, Ohio on October 22, 1848. He was an incorporator of the National Academy of Science; president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1867; president of the New York Academy of Sciences from 1867 to1891, and honorary president from 1891 to 1892. Newberry was also president of the Torrey Botanical Club from 1880 to 1890, was an organizer and first vice-president of the Geological Society of North America, and organized the International Congress of Geologists.

The Geological Society of London conferred on him the Murchison medal in 1888, in recognition of his paleontological work. Newberry also received the honorary degree of LL.D. by the Western Reserve College in 1867. He was an editor of Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia and was in charge of geology and paleontology. Newberry contributed articles to the "U.S. Geological Survey," and to "Reports of Explorations and Surveys," and is the author of many reports, including: "Report upon the Colorado River of the West, Explored in 1857-58" (1861); "Report of the Exploring Expedition from Santa Fe to the Junction of the Grand and Green Rivers" (1876), and "Final Reports of the State Geological Survey of Ohio" (7 vols., 1869-82).

Newberry died in New Haven, Connecticut on December 7, 1892.

The provenance note was written in 2005.