Wikipedia

Francis Alger

Francis Alger (March 8, 1807 – November 27, 1863) was an American mineralogist and industrialist.

Francis Alger
Born(1807-03-08)March 8, 1807
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 27, 1863(1863-11-27) (aged 56)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation(s)Mineralogist, industrialist
Spouse(s)Mary Louisa Jones (1st), Lydia W. Smith (2nd)

Biography

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Alger was born on March 8, 1807, between Lucy Wills and Cyrus Alger. His work mostly focused on Nova Scotia and New Jersey area. He published several successful articles and amassed a large private collection of minerals.[1][2]

Alger was a friend of Dr. Charles Thomas Jackson, who was also a mineralogist. In the summer of 1827, they traveled to Nova Scotia, to collect minerals and make observations upon the geology of the area. This trip was probably suggested by Alger, who already have been there in 1826 following his father, and published a short article of the location. And based on the visit, they published A Description of the Mineralogy and Geology of a part of Nova Scotia on the American Journal of Science and Arts Volume 14-15.[3][4] In 1829, they traveled to Nova Scotia again.[5][6] And in August 1831, submitted Remarks on the Mineralogy and Geology of Nova Scotia, corrected and enlarged version of the prior 'essay', to the first volume of Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[1][7][8][9][10] Next year, they published this article as a book with the similar title.[11]

During the dispute between Jackson and Dr. William T. G. Morton about the discovery of ether anesthesia, Alger testified for Jackson.[6] Their friendship lasted until Alger's death. Notice of the Death of Francis Alger of Boston on the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History (1864) was written by Jackson.[8]

He never had education past common school, but he received an honorary MA from Harvard in 1849.[12][13] Alger was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1833.[14] He was one of the founders and curators of the Boston Society of Natural History.[1][8][9][15] He was also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[16]

He married Mary Louisa Jones on May 9, 1835. They had 4 children: Herbert Alger (1836, died same year), Francis Alger (1838 – 1922), Marion Mott Alger (1840 – 1923), Alfred Andrews Alger (1841 – died same year). They later divorced, probably after 1841, and Alger married Lydia W Smith on October 13, 1858. They had two children, Lucy Alger (1859 – 1921) and Cyrus Willis Alger (1861 – 1942).[9]

After his father’s death in 1856, Alger took over as manager of the South Boston Iron Company.[2]

He died from typhoid pneumonia in Washington, D.C., U.S. on November 27, 1863.[1][2][8][9] He is buried at the Mount Auburn Cemetery with his family.[citation needed]

Selected writings

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  • Alger, Francis. "Notes on the Mineralogy of Nova Scotia". The American Journal of Science and Arts. 12: 227–232.
  • Jackson, Charles T.; Alger, Francis (1832). Remarks on the mineralogy and geology of the peninsula of Nova Scotia : accompanied by a colored map, illustrative of the structure of the country, and by several views of its scenery. Canadiana.org. Cambridge: E. W. Metcalf and Company.
  • Phillips, William (1844). Alger, Francis (ed.). An elementary treatise on mineralogy: comprising an introduction to the science (5th ed.). Boston.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d The American Journal of Science and Arts 1864-11: Vol 38 Iss 114. American Journal of Science. 1864. p. 449.
  2. ^ a b c "Alger, Francis, 1807-1863 | MIT ArchivesSpace". MIT ArchivesSpace. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  3. ^ Jackson, Charles Thomas; Alger, Francis. "A Description of the Mineralogy and Geology of a part of Nova Scotia". The American Journal of Science and Arts. 14: 305–325.
  4. ^ Jackson, Charles Thomas; Alger, Francis. "A Description of the Mineralogy and Geology of a part of Nova Scotia". The American Journal of Science and Arts. 15: 132–160, 201–217.
  5. ^ The New International Encyclopædia/Jackson, Charles Thomas  – via Wikisource.
  6. ^ a b Popular Science Monthly/Volume 19/July 1881/Sketch of Dr. Charles T. Jackson  – via Wikisource.
  7. ^ Jackson, Charles Thomas; Alger, Francis (1831). "Remarks on the Mineralogy and Geology of Nova Scotia". Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 1.
  8. ^ a b c d Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. Boston: Boston Society of Natural History. 1864. pp. 2–6.
  9. ^ a b c d Alger, Arthur M. (Arthur Martineau) (1876). A genealogical history of that branch of the Alger family which springs from Thomas Alger of Taunton and Bridgewater, in Massachusetts. 1665-1875. Boston: D. Clapp & Son. pp. 39–41.
  10. ^ Newton Horace Winchell (1897). The American Geologist. Geological Pub. Co. [etc .] pp. 69–110.
  11. ^ von Bittler, Peter H (June 1977). "The History of Canadian Geology:: Abraham Gesner (1797-1864), An Early Canadian Geologist — Charges of Plagiarism". Geoscience Canada. 4 (2): 97–100.
  12. ^ Harvard University (1843). Annual report of the President of Harvard University to the Overseers on the state of the university for the academic year . Cambridge [Mass.] : University Press. p. 28.
  13. ^ "Five hundred and thirty–fifth meeting. May 24, 1864 – Annual meeting". Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 6: 291–296. 1866.
  14. ^ "Francis Alger | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". www.amacad.org. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  15. ^ Boston Society of Natural History; Creed, Percy R. (Percy Redfern) (1930). The Boston Society of Natural History, 1830-1930. Boston : Printed for the Society. p. 3.
  16. ^ Kohlstedt, Sally Gregory (1976). The formation of the American scientific community: the American Association for the Advancement of Science ; 1848-60. Urbana: Univ. of Ill. Press. ISBN 978-0-252-00419-3.
 

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