Nelson Horatio Darton

Nelson Horatio Darton (* 1865 in Brooklyn, New York City, † 1948) was an American geologist.

At the age of 13 he began to work in the pharmacy of his uncle, where he was trained as a chemist and acquired knowledge in the manufacture of drugs. His interest in geology was initially merely incidental, 1886, however, he stepped on a suggestion of the geologist GK Gilbert the United States Geological Survey (USGS ) at.

Darton was an expert of the geological photography and a well-known producer of geological maps. Initially he worked at a card work on the Appalachian geology, he turned to the geological mapping and worked as in New York, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming and Colorado. In some cases, he first had a topographic map of his area of ​​work produced, when such was not yet available.

In addition, he worked as a hydrogeologist and made some important paleontological discoveries. In total he wrote more than 200 scientific papers; him are due to more than 2100 large-format geologic photos that are now in the USGS Photo Library, Denver.

In 1936 he retired, but remained geologically active, especially in the area around Washington DC Until a few weeks before his death, he came daily to his office at the USGS and gave lectures. In 1940 he received the Penrose Medal of the Geological Society of America.