Clarence King

Clarence Rivers King (1842 to 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer and author who became the first director of the United States Geological Survey, serving from 1879 to 1881 on the nomination of President Rutherford Hayes. Born in Newport, Rhode Island, he studied applied chemistry, physics and geology at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale, where James Dwight Dana was an inspiring teacher. He joined the California Geological Survey and later directed the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel along the transcontinental railroad route. He was noted for his exploration of the Sierra Nevada and wrote about it in popular books, and after leaving the Survey he worked as a mining geologist.