The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Parker, Herschell Clifford

PARKER, Herschell Clifford, American physicist and explorer: b. Brooklyn, N. Y., 9 July 1867. He was graduated at the Columbia School of Mines in 1890, and was connected with the faculty there in 1891-1911, filling the chair of physics for some time before his resignation. He made explorations and first ascents in the Canadian Alps in 1897, 1899 and 1903; first ascents of the mountains Goodsir and Dawson in British Columbia, and of Hungabee, Deltaform, Biddle and Lefroy in Alberta, and explorations of the Mount McKinley region in Alaska in 1906, 1910 and 1912. He made the first ascent of the highest peak of Mount McKinley in 1912. Author of ‘Systematic Treatise on Electrical Measurements’ (1897); and many contributions to scientific periodicals. He was one of the discoverers of “helium” and invented the “helioscope.”