Josiah Edward Spurr

Josiah Edward Spurr (1870-1950) was an American geologist, explorer, and author.

He led the first United States Geological Survey expedition to map and chart the interior regions of Alaska, starting with the Yukon Territory in 1896 and continuing with the Kuskokwim River region in 1898. His books were seen as the definitive work on Alaskan minerals during the Alaska Gold Rush. They read like an adventure including the expedition's experiences with ice dams bearing down on them and lost provisions, as well as interactions with native Indians and missionaries. His last book, "Geology as applied to Selenology", published just a year before his death, has been criticised, but was influential in the new field.

Mount Spurr volcano in Alaska, the mineral spurrite, and the lunar crater Spurr are all named after him.

His children were Edward "Ted" Spurr, an entrepreneur; John Spurr, a publishing executive; William Alfred Spurr, Professor of Statistics at Stanford; Robert A. Spurr, professor of chemistry at the University of Maryland; and Stephen H. Spurr, an authority on forestry and forest ecology and former president of the University of Texas at Austin.

There is a recent biography of him by Stephen J. Spurr, an economist who is his grandson.

Books

He was a prolific writer, with books about geology and exploration including:

• "The Iron-Bearing Rocks Of The Mesabi Range In Minnesota", 1894
• "Geology Of The Aspen Mining District, Colorado, With Atlas", 1898
• "Geology of the Yukon Gold District, Alaska, Exploration and Surveys", 1898
• "A Reconnaissance In Southwestern Alaska, In 1898", 1900
• "Through the Yukon Gold Diggings: a Narrative of Personal Travel", Eastern Publishing, Boston, MA, 1900
• "The Exploration of the Kuskoquim River and the Valley of the Ten Thousand Smokes", privately printed, Boston, MA, c. 1900
• "Ore Deposits of Monte Cristo, Washington", 1901
• "The Ore Deposits Of Tonopah, Nevada (Preliminary Report)", 1903
• "Descriptive Geology Of Nevada South Of The Fortieth Parallel And Adjacent Portions Of California", 1903
• "Geology Applied To Mining; A Concise Summary Of The Chief Geological Principles, a knowledge Of which is necessary to the understanding and proper exploitation of ore-deposits, for mining men and students", 1904
• "Geology Of The Tonopah Mining District, Nevada", 1905
• "Ore Deposits Of The Silver Peak Quadrangle, Nevada", 1906
• "Economic Geology Of The Georgetown Quadrangle (Together With The Empire District) Colorado, by Josiah E. Spurr and George H. Garrey, with General Geology by Sydney H. Ball", 1908
• "Political And Commercial Geology And The World's Mineral Resources; a Series Of Studies By Specialists", J.E. Spurr, Editor, 1920
• "The Ore Magmas; A Series Of Essays On Ore Deposition", McGraw-Hill, 1923
• "The Marketing Of Metals And Minerals; A Series Of Articles By Specialists", edited by Josiah Edward Spurr and Felix Edgar Wormser, 1925
• "Geology Applied To Mining; A First Book Of General Geology And Metallology", 1926
• "Geology Applied To Selenology", 1949

References

• Books by Josiah Edward Spurr in the University of Washington Libraries
• Southwest Alaska Chapter 3 1867-1912 The Era of American Exploitation Alaska History and Cultural Studies course
• Memorial Resolution William A. Spurr (1905-1975) at Stanford University, in PDF format
• Spurrite mineral data from mindat.org