 Joseph LeConte letter
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteJoseph LeConte (1823-1901), graduated from the University of Georgia in 1841. He enrolled in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1844 and received an M.D. in 1845. He married Elizabeth Caroline Nisbet in 1847 and established a medical practice in Macon. Because his first love was geology, however, he enrolled in the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard College in 1850 to study with the famous naturalist Louis Agassiz. Upon completing his studies in 1851, he returned to Georgia and became professor of chemistry and natural history at Oglethorpe University (then located near Milledgeville). In 1852, Joseph was appointed professor of geology and natural history at the University of Georgia. After a dispute with the university president, he left the university a year after his brother departed, and in 1857 he became professor of chemistry and geology at South Carolina College. Joseph joined the faculty of the University of California, departing for the West Coast in 1869. The author of about 200 publications, including nine books, Joseph LeConte won special recognition for his Elements of Geology (1877),Sight: An Exposition of the Principles of Monocular and Binocular Vision (1881), and Evolution and Its Relation to Religious Thought (1888). Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1875, Joseph LeConte served as president of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1891) and the Geological Society of America (1896)... LeConte died in 1901 while camping in Yosemite National Park. Joseph LeConte was the father of five children: Emma Florence, Sarah Elizabeth, Josephine Eloise (died in early childhood), Caroline Eaton, and Joseph Nisbet. Scope and ContentThe collection consists of one letter from Joseph LeConte to Judge Eugenius A. Nisbet, dated September 10, 1852, Milledgeville, Georgia. LeConte desired to apply for Dr. Jones' professorship at the University of Georgia, as Dr. Jones was resigning. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationJoseph LeConte letter, ms647, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries. Finding Aid PublicationFinding aid prepared on: 2014. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in this RepositoryRelated collections in this repository: LeConte genealogical collection, ms71; J.N. LeConte notebooks, ms853; LeConte Furman Carter family papers, ms3027; LeConte family papers, ms2085; and Emma LeConte photograph album, ms2942. | ||||||||||||||||||