Stearns, Harold T. (Harold Thornton), 1900-1986

Harold Thornton Stearns was born in Wallingford, Connecticut on August 25, 1900. He received his B.S. degree from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut in 1921, and his Ph.D. in geology from George Washington University in 1926.

He began his career with the United States Geological Survey in 1923 and was the author of numerous reports to the General Land Office on Carey Act and Irrigation Projects in Idaho. He also explored the Craters of the Moon region and was the author of the report to the National Park Service recommending the area be set aside as a national monument, which it was in 1924.

From 1924 to 1925 he traveled around the world visiting the volcanoes of Hawaii, Japan, the Philippine Islands, Java, Sumatra, Africa, and Italy. He was the geologist in charge of Hawaiian ground water investigations from 1943 to 1946.

He was a member of the Geological Society of Washington, the International Geophysical Union - Section Volcanology, and the Seismological Society of America.

Following his retirement from the U.S.G.S. he made his home in Hope, Idaho.

From the guide to the Papers, 1905-1975, (University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives)