Scientist. Geologist and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Walcott was an important contributor to the field of invertebrate paleontology. He joined the U.S. Geological Survey in 1879 and was appointed its director in 1894. He was then elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1896. Walcott's particular field of interest was Cambrian layer fossils, a subject on which he published scientific papers through the Geological Survey. The Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal is awarded by the National Academy every five years to stimulate work in Precambrian and Cambrian paleontology. Walcott resigned from the Geological Survey in 1907 when he was selected as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He remained the chief administrator of the Smithsonian until his death in 1927. As a result of Walcott's work on shale formations in the Canadian Rockies, the north summit of Mount Burgess, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was named Mount Walcott is his honor. Walcott's first wife, Lura Ann Rust, died in 1876, less than four years after their marriage. He married Helena Breese Stevens in 1888 and they had four children. Following her 1911 death, Walcott married artist and naturalist Mary Morris Vaux.
Scientist. Geologist and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Walcott was an important contributor to the field of invertebrate paleontology. He joined the U.S. Geological Survey in 1879 and was appointed its director in 1894. He was then elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1896. Walcott's particular field of interest was Cambrian layer fossils, a subject on which he published scientific papers through the Geological Survey. The Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal is awarded by the National Academy every five years to stimulate work in Precambrian and Cambrian paleontology. Walcott resigned from the Geological Survey in 1907 when he was selected as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He remained the chief administrator of the Smithsonian until his death in 1927. As a result of Walcott's work on shale formations in the Canadian Rockies, the north summit of Mount Burgess, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was named Mount Walcott is his honor. Walcott's first wife, Lura Ann Rust, died in 1876, less than four years after their marriage. He married Helena Breese Stevens in 1888 and they had four children. Following her 1911 death, Walcott married artist and naturalist Mary Morris Vaux.
Bio by: Robert Holt
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