Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/764

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

746 HITCHCOCK college from 1845 to 1854 ; and professor of nat- ural theology and of geology there from 1845 till his death. He was appointed state geolo- gist of Massachusetts in 1830, of the first dis- trict of New York in 1836, and of Vermont in 1857, and was for several years a member of the Massachusetts board of agriculture. In 1850 he was commissioned by the government of Massachusetts to examine the agricultural schools in Europe. His life was in a great measure identified with the history of Amherst college. During his presidency of ten years he procured for it buildings, apparatus, and funds to the amount of $100,000, doubled the number of students, and established it on a solid pecu- niary as well as literary and scientific basis. He began his career as an author by the prepa- ration of an almanac, which he conducted for four years (18 15-' 18), and the publication of a tragedy, " The Downfall of Bonaparte " (1815). His first important contribution to science was a paper on " The Geology and Mineralogy of a Section of Massachusetts on the Connecticut River," with a map, published in the first vol- ume of the "American Journal of Science" (1818), to which he became a frequent con- tributor. About the same time he gave an ac- count of Bailey's new method of longitude. As state geologist he was added to the corps who had charge of the trigonometrical survey of Massachusetts. His first report, a pamphlet of 70 pages, on the economical geology of the state, was published in 1832. In 1833 he made a full report, containing about 700 pages, with an atlas of plates and a geological map. In 1837 he was commissioned to reexamine the geology of the state, which resulted in a final report of two 4to volumes of 840 pages, with 56 plates and 82 woodcuts (1841). After this he made several reports on the hematite of Berkshire county, and also a report on the "Ichnology of New England," the result of more than 20 years of study, which was pub- lished by the state (1840; supplement in 1865). In 1856, while suffering from physical infirmi- ties, he commenced with his two sons the geological survey of Vermont, which was suc- cessfully completed, the report of the work ap- pearing in 1862. His last geological paper of importance was " New Facts and Conclusions respecting the Fossil Footmarks of the Con- necticut Valley," in the " American Journal of Science," July, 1863. He published more than 20 volumes. Among those not already men- tioned are : " Geology of the Connecticut Val- ley " (1823) ; " Catalogue of the Plants within Twenty Miles of Amherst" (1829) ; a prize es- say on the "Wine Question," an "Argument for Early Temperance," and " Lectures on Diet, Regimen, and Employment" (1831); " History of a Zoological Temperance Conven- tion in Central Africa," and " Lectures on the Peculiar Phenomena of the Four Seasons" (1850) ; " Memoir of Mary Lyon," and " Re- ligion of Geology" (1851) ; and "Illustrations of Surface Geology," published by the Smith- sonian institution (1857). His "Elementary Geology" (1840; revised and enlarged, with a preface by J. Pye Smith, London, 1854) has passed through many editions in America and England. His last literary work was " Remi- niscences of Amherst College " (1863). He was the first to give a scientific exposition of the fossil footprints of the Connecticut valley, and with him ichnology as a science began. (See FOSSIL FOOTPEINTS.) He suggested as well as executed the geological survey of Massachu- setts, the first survey of an entire state under the authority of government in the world. The American geological association (now the scien- tific association) was originated at his sugges- tion, and he was its first president. His son, CHARLES H., was associated with him in the geological survey of Vermont, after which he was engaged in a survey of Maine for two or three years, and was subsequently appointed professor of geology in Dartmouth college, and state geologist of New Hampshire. HITCHCOCK, Ethan Allen, an American au- thor, born at Vergennes, Vt., May 18, 1798, died at Hancock, Ga., Aug. 5, 1870. His mother was a daughter of Ethan Allen. He graduated at West Point in 1817, became as- sistant instructor in tactics there in 1824, and from 1829 to 1833 was commandant of cadets and instructor in infantry tactics. During the war with Mexico he took part in all of Gen. Scott's battles, and served a part of the time as inspector general, receiving brevets as col- onel and brigadier general. From 1851 to 1853 he was in command of the Pacific division, and in 1854-'5 at Carlisle barracks. In October, 1855, he resigned his commission in conse- quence of the refusal of Jefferson Davis, then secretary of war, to confirm a leave of absence granted by Gen. Scott, and afterward resided in St. Louis, devoting himself mainly to literary pursuits. On the breaking out of the civil war he reSntered the army, and was appointed major general of volunteers, Feb. 10, 1862, and acted as military adviser to President Lincoln, on the commission for the exchange of prison- ers, and on that for revising the military code. He published " Remarks upon the Alchemists " (1857); " S wedenborg a Hermetic Philosopher " (1858); "Christ the Spirit" (1860); "Red Book of Appin, and other Fairy Tales " (1863) ; "Remarks on the Sonnets of Shakespeare" (1865); "Spenser's Colin Clout explained" (1865); and "Notes on the Vita Nuova of Dante" (1866). All his works are intended to enforce the notion that a very subtle and elevated theology and philosophy were taught hermetically by a great variety of writers. HITCHCOCK, Roswell Dwight, an American cler- gyman, born at East Machias, M., Aug. 15, 1817. He graduated at Amherst college in 1836, and in 1838-'9 was a member of the theo- logical seminary at Andover. He was a teacher during one term at Phillips academy, Andover, and in 1839-'42 tutor at Amherst college. In 1842-'4 he was a resident licentiate at An-