Dapples, Edward C.

Edward C. Dapples was born December 13, 1906, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Edward C. and Victoria (Gazzolo) Dapples. He received his B.S. (1928) and M.S. (1934) degrees from Northwestern University. He studied at Harvard (M.A., 1935) and the University of Wisconsin (Ph.D., 1938).

After completing his undergraduate work at Northwestern, Dapples was employed for several years by the Truax-Traer and Zeigler coal companies as a geologist and mine supervisor. In 1936, he became an instructor at Northwestern University, assistant professor in 1941, associate professor in 1942, and professor of geological sciences in 1950. During these years Dapples also acted as a geological consultant for the Sinclair, Pure, Buffalo, and Forest oil corporations. From 1960 to 1961, he was senior visiting scientist at the University of Lausanne. In 1970, Dapples was visiting professor at the University of Geneva.

During his years of teaching, Dapples performed experiments in mining operations, particularly open-cut mining and exploration for oil. He also served as a consultant in rock materials, work which greatly influenced his publications. Dapples' writings include numerous articles published in geological journals. His two major books were Basic Geology for Science and Engineering (New York: Wiley, 1959) and, Environments of Coal Depositions (Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America, 1969).

Dapples held office in many geological associations. He was president of the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists (SEPM) (1970-1971) and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (1979-1980). He was a fellow of the Geological Society of America and was active on its G.H. Cady Award Committee.

Dapples retired from Northwestern in 1973 and was named Professor Emeritus. He left the Chicago area in 1980 and moved to Sun City, Arizona.

Dapples married Marion Virginia Sprague on September 2, 1931. The couple had two children: Marianne Helena and Charles Christian.

From the guide to the Edward C. Dapples (1906- ) Papers, 1938-1980, (Northwestern University Archives)