Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884

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Arnold Henry Guyot was a geographer and the first to formulate laws of structure and movement of glaciers. He published geography textbooks, 1866-1875, and was professor of physical geography and geology at Princeton University, 1854-1884.

From the description of Correspondence, 1857-1882. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122316399

Geographer and geologist.

From the description of Letter of A. Guyot, circa 1857. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79450594

American geographer and educator.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : Cambridge, Mass., to Rev. Dr. Walker, 1854 June 20. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 743875364

Arnold Guyot was a Swiss-born American geologist, geographer, and educator. Born in Boudevilliers, near Neuchâtel, Switzerland, he obtained his doctoral degree at Berlin. Between 1839 and 1848 he taught physical geography and history at the Academy of Neuchâtel. In 1948 Guyot came to the United States, and in 1854 he was appointed Professor of Geology and Physical Geography at the College of New Jersey. The following year he began what is now the Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences and started the institution's first systematic instruction in geology. In 1856 he founded what is now the Princeton Museum of Natural History. Guyot's main activities focused on hypsometric measurements of the eastern mountains from New England to North Carolina, on meteorology, and on the reform of geographic teaching in colleges and secondary schools. Guyot was involved in the formative years of weather forecasting in the United States, and his extensive meteorological observations led to the founding of the U.S. Weather Bureau. Guyot also developed topographical maps of the Appalachian and Catskill mountains. His published works include THE EARTH AND MAN (English translation, 1849), TABLES, METEOROLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL (1859), and CREATION, or THE BIBLICAL COSMOGONY IN THE LIGHT OF MODERN SCIENCE (1884). Guyot's many texts, geographic atlases, and wall charts continued to be published long after his death.

From the description of Arnold Guyot collection, 1829-1928. (Peking University Library). WorldCat record id: 74213228

One of the most prominent scientific refugees from the political turmoil of 1848, Arnold Guyot made fundamental contributions to the study of geology, glaciology, and meteorology on two continents. Born at Boudevilliers, Switzerland, in 1807, Guyot began his studies at the College of Neuchatel, where, like his classmate Leo Lesquereux (later a prominent paleobotanist), he originally intended for the ministry. After two years studying the classics in Germany and a two year course in theology at Neuchatel, he enrolled at the University of Berlin in 1829 to complete his path to the pulpit.

Yet in Berlin, Guyot's interests began to shift away from theology, if not from religion. Under the influence of friends like Louis Agassiz and the excitement of lectures he attended on philosophy and natural history, Guyot decided instead to pursue a doctorate in the sciences, writing a dissertation on "The Natural Classification of Lakes" (PhD, 1835) under the eminent geographer Carl Ritter. Throughout his stay in Berlin, and during the five years that followed, when he worked as a private tutor in Paris, Guyot traveled widely on naturalizing tours, collecting shells and rocks, making observations and scientific colleagues.

In 1838, Guyot took up the challenge of testing the theory of his friend Louis Agassiz that northern Europe had formerly been covered by glaciers, and although Agassiz took much of the credit for the results, Guyot won an invitation to return to join the faculty at Neuchatel to teach physical geography and history. Guyot became the first to describe the differential rate of flow within an ice sheet, to demonstrate that glacial flow occurred by molecular displacement rather than sliding of the entire ice mass, and the first, as well, to discuss the importance of the laminated structure of glacial ice.

When the Grand Revolutionary Council of Geneva closed the College in 1848, however, Guyot found himself without a job. During the summer, he (like Lesquereux) followed Agassiz to the comparative calm of the United States, and within a year, he published his first work in English. Based on a series of lectures he had delivered at the Lowell Institute, The Earth and Man (1849) was an instant success, drawing connections between physical environment and human society and character, and earning him a position with the Massachusetts Board of Education as a lecturer on geography and pedagogy.

Lured to Princeton in 1854, Guyot was appointed Professor of Geology and Physical Geography, a position he held for over three decades. Although he continued to do field work in physical geography for several years, his research shifted gradually toward meteorology. In his best known work, he made an extensive series of barometric measurements in the Appalachians to estimate elevation, and he helped establish a national system for weather monitoring, outfitting meteorological observation stations for the network being built by Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian. His Collection of Meteorological Tables, with Other Tables Useful in Practical Meteorology (Washington, 1852) became a standard in the field. He is remembered, as well, as an outstanding teacher, often bringing students into the field with him to learn basic skills, and as the key figure in building the Elizabeth Marsh Museum at Princeton into one of the nation's finest.

An evangelical Presbyterian, Guyot was also a key figure in the characteristically Princeton effort to reconcile religion and science during the 1870s and 1880s. His "Cosmogony and the Bible" (1874) and Creation, or the Biblical Cosmogony in the Light of Modern Science (1884) were sincere, and widely popular, efforts to proclaim that modern science supported, rather than undermined faith. His claimed, generally, that both the books of nature and scripture were complementary, having originated in the same author, and although he insisted that nature was divinely ordered, it was nevertheless bound by natural law. Although he was never warm to Darwinian natural selection, he even admitted that natural evolution of a limited sort was possible, stating that only three divine interventions were necessary to explain the natural world: the special creation of matter, life, and humanity.

Between 1861 and 1866, Guyot lectured at Princeton Theological Seminary on revealed religion, physical science, and ethnology, and he gave occasional courses at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Guyot remained at Princeton until his death in 1884.

From the guide to the Arnold Guyot Collection, 1857-1882, (American Philosophical Society)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Torrey, John, 1796-1873. Papers, 1818-1859. Duke University, Medical Center Library & Archives
referencedIn Marsh, Othniel Charles, 1831-1899. Othniel Charles Marsh papers, 1817-1899 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn LeConte, John L. (John Lawrence), 1825-1883. Papers, 1812-1897 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn American Philosophical Society. John L. Leconte Papers.
referencedIn American Philosophical Society. John Fries Frazer Papers.
referencedIn Alexander Hall Letters. [Contact repository for more information].
referencedIn National Archives And Records Administration. Rg 23: Coast And Geodetic Survey.
referencedIn Leo Lesquereux Autobiography, 1864-1886 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884. Letter of A. Guyot, circa 1857. Library of Congress
creatorOf Ausman, Mary. Mary Ausman collection. The Heard Museum Library
referencedIn Palfrey family papers, 1713-1915 Houghton Library
referencedIn American Museum Of Natural History Res. Lib., Spec. Coll.. E. D. Cope Papers (Mssc67).
referencedIn U.S. Congress, House Reports. 33 D 2 D Session, 1855, Report #141 (Serial 808).
referencedIn Haverford College Library, Quaker And Special Collections. Autograph Collection.
referencedIn Lecture Notes Collection, 1772-1990 Princeton University. Library. Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections.Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library. Princeton University Archives.
referencedIn Russian Academy Of Sciences, Archives, St. Petersburg Branc. [Contact repository for more information].
referencedIn National Academy Of Sciences, Archives. Deceased Members.
creatorOf Cameron, Henry Clay, 1827-1906. Cameron family papers, 1840-1947 (bulk 1850-1900) Princeton University Library
referencedIn Smithsonian Archives. Ru 32: Office Of The Secretary, Unbound Miscellane.
referencedIn Dana family papers, 1805-1961 (bulk 1833-1894). Library of Congress
referencedIn Weather Bureau National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Marsh, Othniel Charles, 1831-1899. Papers, 1817-1899 Yale University Library
referencedIn Smithsonian Archives. Alexander Dallas Bache Papers.
referencedIn Powell, John Wesley, 1834-1902. Correspondence, 1869-1879, of the Powell Survey. American Philosophical Society Library
referencedIn Public Record Office (Records Of Kew Observatory). Edward Sabine Papers.
referencedIn Rutgers University Libraries, Spec. Coll. & Univ. Archives. Maclean Family Papers.
referencedIn Rhees, William Jones, 1830-1907. William Jones Rhees Papers, 1744-1907 The Huntington Library
referencedIn Princeton University Library, Mudd Ms. Lib, Univ. Archives. Trustees' Minutes.
referencedIn Adolphe Quetelet correspondence, 1822-1872, 1822-1872 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Hartt, Charles Frederick, 1840-1878. Charles Frederick Hartt papers, 1863-1874. Cornell University Library
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referencedIn Smithsonian Archives. Ru 60: Meteorological Project, 1849 1875.
referencedIn John Fries Frazer papers, 1834-1871, 1834-1871 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Batchelder family papers, 1806-1902 Houghton Library
creatorOf Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884. Correspondence, 1857-1882. American Philosophical Society Library
referencedIn Princeton University Library, Mudd Ms. Lib, Univ. Archives. Trustees Papers.
creatorOf Cope, E. D. (Edward Drinker), 1840-1897. Papers, 1848-1940 (bulk 1855-1896). Haverford College Library
referencedIn Harvard, Museum Of Comparative Zoology, Library, Archives. Agassiz Letterpress Books.
creatorOf Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884. Autograph letter signed : Cambridge, Mass., to Rev. Dr. Walker, 1854 June 20. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Harvard University. Autograph File, G. 1641-2009. Houghton Library
referencedIn Pennsylvania Historical And Museum Commission. [Contact repository for more information].
referencedIn American Philosophical Society. Arnold Guyot Papers.
referencedIn Princeton University Library, Dept. Of Rare Books & Mss., Ms. John Miller Collection.
referencedIn Dana family. Dana family papers, 1764-1967 (inclusive), 1805-1961 (bulk). Yale University Library
creatorOf Arnold Guyot Collection, 1857-1882 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Historical Society Of Princeton, N.J.. Arnold Guyot Papers.
referencedIn Smithsonian Institution Annual Report. 1855.0.
referencedIn Yale University, Beinecke Library. Letters To Redfield.
referencedIn Dana family. Dana family papers, 1764-1967 (inclusive), 1805-1961 (bulk). Yale University Library
referencedIn British Association Reports. [Contact repository for more information].
referencedIn Franklin Institute. O. W. Gibbs Papers.
referencedIn Lesley, J. P. (J. Peter), 1819-1903. Papers, 1826-1898. American Philosophical Society Library
referencedIn Princeton University Library, Dept. Of Rare Books & Mss., Ms. Guyot Corres. From Cameron Family Papers.
creatorOf Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884. Autograph letter signed A. Guyot to: "Miss H.B.Haines February 13, 1865. Wellesley College
referencedIn National Archives And Records Administration. Notebook Series Misc. Shop & Lab Notebooks.
referencedIn Quetelet, Adolphe, 1796-1874. Correspondence, 1822-1872. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library
referencedIn Bibliotheque De La Sorbonne (Paris). Bibliotheque Victor Cousin, Correspondance General.
referencedIn Coffin, James H. (James Henry), 1806-1873. James Henry Coffin Papers, 1848-1884 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Wisconsin Historical Society. Increase A. Lapham Papers.
referencedIn Agassiz, Louis, 1807-1873. Correspondence and other papers, 1821-1877 Houghton Library
referencedIn Johns Hopkins University, Eisenhower Lib., Spec. Coll.. D. C. Gilman Papers, Ms. 1.
referencedIn National Archives And Records Administration. Rg 78: Naval Observatory.
referencedIn Smithsonian Archives. Ru 52: Assistant Secretary, Incoming Correspondenc.
referencedIn Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874 Houghton Library
referencedIn Quetelet, Adolphe, 1796-1874. Correspondence, 1822-1872. American Philosophical Society Library
referencedIn Yale University Library, Manuscripts & Archives). Silliman Family Papers.
creatorOf Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884. Arnold Guyot collection, 1829-1928. Princeton University Library
referencedIn American Philosophical Society Archives. Record Group IIf, 1866-1886 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Princeton University Library, Mudd Ms. Lib, Univ. Archives. John Maclean Papers.
referencedIn Powell, John Wesley, 1834-1902. Correspondence of the Powell Survey, 1869-1879 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Pendleton, Alexander R., fl. 1868. Study notebook of Alexander R. Pendleton [manuscript], 1866-1869. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Scientists Collection, 1563-1973 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884. [New England]. HCL Technical Services, Harvard College Library
creatorOf Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884. Geology lectures / by Prof. Guyot. University of Oklahoma, Bizzell Memorial Library
creatorOf Guyot, A. (Arnold), 1807-1884. Letter, 1866, Sept. 15, Princeton, N.J., to Thornton Alexander Jenkins. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Secretary. Correspondence, 1863-1879 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Letters to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1761-1904 (inclusive), 1820-1888 (bulk) Houghton Library
referencedIn Yale University, Beinecke Library. Loomis Papers.
referencedIn Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Secretary. Correspondence, 1865-1891 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Lesley, J. Peter, 1819-1903. Papers, 1826-1898 American Philosophical Society
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Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
United States
New England
Subject
Acoustics
Education
Albany Institute
American Assoc. For The Advancement Of Science (+ Aagn Etc.)
Army
Astronomy
British Association For The Advancement Of Science
Civil war
Coasts
Congress
District of columbia
Economics (Economic Conditions)
Ethnology Archaeology Anthropology
Exposition
Geographers
Geology
Geology
Harvard
Henry Family
Henry, Joseph, Personality, Etc
Internal improvements
Lectures, Popular
Light House Board
Meteorology
Mint
National Academy of Sciences
National Museum
Natural history
Natural history museums
Paleobotany
Paleontology
Patent Office
Photography
Physical geography
Princeton (College Of New Jersey)
Railroads
Recommendations For Positions
Religion and science
Science In America
Scientific publications
Smithsonian Board Of Regents
Smithsonian Building
Smithsonian Endowment
Smithsonian Exchange
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Publications
Smithsonian Weather Service
Standardization
Surveys And Explorations, General
Occupation
Geographers
Geographers
Geologists
Scientists
Activity

Person

Birth 1807-09-28

Death 1884-02-08

Swiss

English,

French

Information

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