Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/121

This page needs to be proofread.
POWELL
POWELL

ward he returned to his regiment and continued in active service until the close of the war. In 1805 he became professor of geology and curator of the museum in Illinois Wesleyan university. Bloomington, but he resigned to accept a similar post in Illinois nor- malunirersity. Dur- ing the summer of 1867 he visited the mountains of Colo- rado with his class for the purpose of studying geology, and so began a prac- tice that has been continued by emi- nent teachers else- where. On this ex- pedition he formed the idea of explor- ing the canon of the Colorado, and a year later he organized a party for that pur- pose. The journey lasted more than

three months and

they passed through numerous perilous experi- ences, living for part of the time on half rations. Maj. Powell's success in this undertaking resulted in the establishment by congress in 1870 of a topo- graphical and geological survey of the Colorado river of the West and its tributaries, which was placed under his direction. During the following years a systematic survey was conducted, until the physical features of the Colorado valley, embracing an area of nearly 100,000 square miles, had been thoroughly explored. This expedition, at first con- ducted under the auspices of the Smithsonian insti- tution, was transferred to the department of the in- terior, and given the title of the Geographical and geological survey of the Rocky mountain region. In 1874 four separate surveys were in the field, and in 1879, after much agitation, the National academy of sciences recommended the establishment under the department of the interior of an independent organization to be known as the U. S. geological survey. Action to this effect was at once taken by congress, and Clarence King (q. v.) was appointed director. From the beginning of the controversy Ma.j. Powell was the leading advocate of consoli- dation. Meanwhile he had devoted more attention to American ethnology in the prosecution of his work than the other surveys had done. He had collected material on this subject which he had deposited with the Smithsonian institution, and had already issued three volumes as "Contribu- tions to North American Ethnology." In order to prevent the discontinuance of this work, a bureau of ethnology, which has become the recog- nized centre of ethnographic operations in the Unit- ed States, was established under the direction of the Smithsonian institution. Maj. Powell was given charge of the work, and has since continued at its head, issuing annual reports and bulletins. In 1881 Mr. King resigned the office of director of the U. S. geological survey, and Maj. Powell was ap- pointed his successor. Since that time he has ably administered the work of this great enter- prise, which includes, besides special investigations in geology, the general study of economic geology, paleontology, and geography. In connection with the survey there is also a chemical division, where the necessary analytical work is conducted. Maj. Powell received the degree of Ph. I), from the University of Heidelberg in 1886, and also during the same year that of LL. D. from Harvard, and he is a member of many scientific societies. In 1880 he was elected to the' National academy of sciences, and he was president of the Anthropological soci- ety of Washington from its organization in 187!> till 1888. He became a fellow of the American association for the advancement of science in 1875, vice-president in 1879, when he delivered his retir- ing address on " Mythologic Philosophy," and in 1887 was elected to the presidency. His publica- tions include many scientific papers and addresses, and numerous government volumes that bear his name, including the reports of the various surveys, the bureau of ethnology, and the U. S. geological survey. The special volumes that bear his own name' are " Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries explored in 1869-72 " (Washington, 1875) ; " Report on the Geology of the Eastern Portion of the Uinta Mountains and a Region of Country Adjacent Thereto" (1876); " Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States" (1879); and "Introduction to the Study of Indian Languages, with Words, Phrases, and Sentences to be collected " (1880).


POWELL, Lazarus Whitehead, senator, b. in Henderson county, Ky., 6 Oct., 1812 ; d. there, 3 July, 1867. He was graduated at St. Joseph's col- lege, Bardstown, Ky., in 1833, attended law lec- tures at Transylvania university, and was admitted to the bar in 1835. He then practised his profes- sion, and at the same time engaged in planting. Mr. Powell served one term in the legislature in 1836, was a presidential elector in 1844. on the Polk and Dallas ticket, and was governor of Kentucky in 1851-'o. He was appointed by President Polk one of the peace commissioners to Utah in 1857, and issued the proclamation that offered pardon to all Mormons that would submit to the U.S. gov- ernment. He was elected to the U. S. senate as a Democrat in 1858, served till 1865. and was a presi- dential elector in 1864. Mr. Powell was a clear and forcible debater and an excellent working mem- ber of the senate.


POWELL, Levin, soldier, b. in Loudoun county, Va., in 1788; d. in Bedford, Pa., 6 Aug., 1810. ' He served throughout the Revolution as an officer of the, Virginia line, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was a member of the Vir- ginia convention of 1788 that ratified the U. S. constitution, and in 1798 was elected to congress as a Federalist, declining re-election for a second term. It is recorded in the newspapers of that date that " Gen. Washington, on the day of elec- tion, mounted his old iron-gray charger and rode ten miles to the county court-house to vote for his brave fellow-soldier, Lieut.-Col. Powell, who is happily elected." His son, Levin Myne, naval officer, b. in Loudoun county, Va., in 1800 ; d. in Washington, D. C., 15 Jan., 1885, was ap- pointed midshipman in the U. S. navy in 1817, be- came lieutenant in 1826, was in several engage- ments against the Seminole Indians in 1836-'7, was wounded on Jupiter river in January of the latter year, and received the thanks of congress for his services during that campaign. He became commander in 1843, was on ordnance duty till 1849, and was executive officer of the Washington navy-yard in 1851-'4. He became captain in 1855, was retired in 1861, commissioned commodore in 1862. and rear-admiral in 1869.


POWELL, Thomas, editor, b. in London, England, 3 Sept., 1809 ; d. in Newark, N. J., 13 Jan., 1887. He was a successful playwright, and engaged in various literary pursuits in London for