Longwell, Chester R. (Chester Ray), 1887-1975

Born in Missouri in 1887, Chester R. Longwell became a Yale educated geologist who did significant fieldwork and research in the desert wilds of Clark County. After serving in the First World War, Longwell returned to Yale and focused his dissertation research on the Muddy Mountains of Southern Nevada, spending his summers exploring and surveying this area near Las Vegas from 1921 to 1928. A keen observer of the land, Longwell recorded data on the geology, vegetation and weather, and even penned short stories set in the area. In 1956, after a long and distinguished career, Longwell retired from Yale and moved with his wife toPalo Alto, California where he continued his research at Stanford. Among many other offices and honors, he served as president of the Geological Society of America from 1949 to 1950. Over his career Longwell wrote more than one hundred articles and books on geology, including co-authoring the undergraduate text, Physical geography, which was the standard textbook used in introductory geology classes at colleges and universities for more than a decade. Longwell continued his research until his death in 1975 at age 88.

From the description of Chester Longwell papers. [1917-1974]. (University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 299616044