Branner, John Casper, 1850-1922

Biographical History

John Casper Branner (1850-1922) was a geologist was born on July 4, 1850, in New Market, Tennessee. He enrolled at Maryville College, but after two years he transferred to Cornell. He developed an interest in Brazil and he accompanied his professor, Charles F. Hartt, there in 1874, staying until 1883. He studied the country's geology, and also searched for vegetable fibers that could be used to make incandescent light. At the same time, he studied insects that affected cotton plants, under the commission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He received his Bachelor's degree in 1882. In the same year, he was appointed assistant geologist to the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania. In 1885, he accepted position as professor and chairman of the Department of Geology at Indiana University, where he remained until 1891. He later became director of the Geological Survey of Arkansas, and was the state's geologist until March 16, 1893. He then became a professor of geology at Stanford University. He became vice president of Stanford in 1898, and president in 1913. He retired two years later. He died on March 1, 1922.

Source

• John Casper Branner, Ph.D. Jefferson County, Tennessee Geneaology & History. Retrieved February 2012, from http://jefferson.tngenealogy.net/research-aids/17-families/372-john-casper-branner-phd.
• Library of Congress. NACO. Control Number: n 86065265

Related entities

• Geological Survey of Arkansas: He became director of the Geological Survey of Arkansas, and was the state's geologist.
• Indiana university: From 1885 - 1891, he was a professor of the Department of Geology at Indiana University.
• Stanford university: He was professor and later president of Stanford University.

Birth Date

1850

Death Date

1922

Topic

Geologists

Form/Genre

Personal name

Occupation

Geologists