Matthes, François, 1874-1948

Topographer, geologist, geomorphologist. Matthes, a native of Holland, came to the U.S. at age 17, graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1895, became a U.S. citizen in 1896, and in that year joined the Topographic Branch of the U.S. Geological Survey. He gained a national reputation as a topographer through his work in Wyoming, Glacier National Park, the Grand Canyon (Ariz.), and Yosemite National Park (Calif.). In 1913 he became a geologist and geomorphologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, undertaking studies in the Mississippi River Valley, Wyoming, and the Grand Canyon. He is most well known for his studies of glaciers and glacial landforms in the western United States, especially in Yosemite Valley and other areas in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.

From the description of Correspondence relating to Sequoia, Yosemite, and King's Canyon National Parks, California ; Glacier National Park, Montana ; Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, and related topics. 1913-1914, 1916, 1935-1938, 1940. (US Geological Survey, Denver). WorldCat record id: 29840193

Biographical Information

Geologist François Emile Matthes was born in 1874 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He spent his childhood in Germany and Switzerland, where he developed a love for mountains and glaciers. In 1891, Matthes, along with his twin brother Gerard, came to the United States to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and earned a B.S. degree in 1895 in geodetic and topographic engineering. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1896.

In 1896, he worked as a temporary field assistant on the United States Geological Survey making topographical maps of the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). In 1898, he received a Civil Service appointment and was assigned to map the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. Matthes so impressed the director of the Geological Survey with his ability to depict geological formations together with the sculptured relief left by glacial action that he was assigned to map what is now Glacier National Park in 1900-1901. He then went on to map the Grand Canyon in 1902-1904. In the course of these mapping projects, Matthes became more interested in studying land forms and decided to take a course in physiography at Harvard. He was offered a teaching position, but declined when he was invited by the Geological Survey to return to the field to map the Yosemite Valley in 1905-1906. While mapping Yosemite, Matthes determined the height of all its great cliffs and waterfalls by triangulation and gained an intimate knowledge of the physiography of the region. He was in Berkeley in 1906 during the San Francisco Earthquake, and made field studies for the State Earthquake Investigation Commission of California, surveying its effects upon the coast. Later, in 1910-1911, he mapped Mount Rainier National Park. It was also in 1911 that Matthes married Edith Lovell Coyle.

It was Matthes' work in Yosemite that led the Geological Survey to assign him the task of studying the geomorphic development of the area. Matthes methodically traced all the moraines of the ancient glaciers and determined definitely, in 1914, the limits which those ice streams had attained. In doing this, Matthes put to rest the question about their origins that had remained an issue ever since the days of John Muir. Before publishing his views on Yosemite, Matthes decided to study other great canyons of the Sierra Nevada and investigated a great part of the range. A request from the National Park Service to cover Sequoia National Park allowed him to complete his work down to the southern limit of the glaciation. His discovery that the glaciers that exist in the Sierra Nevada are not remnants of great ice streams of the glacial period, but a new generation born only a few thousand years ago attracted the attention of glaciologists and climatologists worldwide. In 1931, Matthes organized a permanent research committee on glaciers as a way to secure systematic data on glaciers in America and was named secretary of the International Commission on Snow and Glaciers in 1940.

Although Matthes and his wife had no children, he shared his great love of the outdoors with the Boy Scouts of America. He became the scoutmaster of a Washington D.C. troop in 1915, and later in 1920 took a group of eagle scouts from the East Coast on a tour though Yosemite. So beloved was he by the Boy Scouts, that he was honored with a Silver Beaver award in 1931. Matthes also received other honors in his lifetime. Earlier, in 1920, he was decorated as Chevalier in the Order of Leopold II, by King Albert of Belgium for his work on the glacial history of Yosemite. He was also an honorary vice president of the Sierra Club, and belonged to the American Geophysical Union, the Association of American Geographers, and the British Glaciological Society. In 1947, when Matthes retired from the Geological Survey, he was honored with a gold medal for his distinguished service.

His well-deserved retirement, at age 70, was postponed for three years during World War II when he served his country in connection with geological, water supply, and meteorological problems. Upon his retirement, Matthes and his wife moved to El Cerrito, California. One of the last honors Matthes received was an honorary degree of L.L.D. conferred upon him by the University of California in 1947. Matthes suffered a heart attack and a stroke on April 18,1948, and died two months later on June 21. In 1949, the Sierra Club honored his memory by naming two geographic features at Yosemite National Park, "Matthes Crest" and "Matthes Lake," after their distinguished honorary vice president.

Matthes was a prolific writer with the ability to write professional papers for a scientific audience as well as popular articles for the general public. Upon his death, Matthes had published more than 60 articles, and wrote several unpublished works. Many of his writings reflect his love for Yosemite such as "Half Dome of the Yosemite Valley," published in 1910; "The Story of the Yosemite Valley," published in 1922 and 1924; "The Glaciological History of the Yosemite Valley," published in 1930; and "The Last Yosemite Highway Robbery," published in 1947. Matthes had intended on writing a book he referred to as his "Yosemite book," after World War II, yet did not complete it before his death. Through the efforts of his wife Edith and colleague Fritiof Fryxell, two books, based on Matthes' drafts and notes, were published posthumously. The Incomparable Valley was published in 1950 followed by François Matthes and the Marks of Time in 1962.

From the guide to the François Matthes papers, 1874-1965, bulk 1900-1950, (The Bancroft Library)