Warren B. Hamilton

Warren Hamilton in Colorado, 2007

Warren B. Hamilton (May 13, 1925 – October 26, 2018) was an American geologist[1] known for integrating observed geology and geophysics into planetary-scale syntheses describing the dynamic and petrologic evolution of Earth's crust and mantle. His primary career (1952–1995) was as a research scientist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) in geologic, then geophysical, branches. After retirement, he became a Distinguished Senior Scientist in the Department of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines (CSM). He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a holder of the Penrose Medal, highest honor of the Geological Society of America (GSA). Hamilton served in the US Navy from 1943 to 1946, completed a bachelor's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in a Navy training program in 1945, and was a commissioned officer on the aircraft carrier USS Tarawa. After returning to civilian life, he earned an MSc in geology from the University of Southern California in 1949, and a PhD in geology from UCLA in 1951. He married Alicita V. Koenig (1926–2015) in 1947. Hamilton died in October 2018 at the age of 93; until the last few weeks he was working on new research.[2] His final paper, "Toward a myth-free geodynamic history of Earth and its neighbors," was published posthumously (2019) in Earth-Science Reviews.[3] In 2022 the Geological Society of America published an edited volume in his honor, with 33 papers: In the Footsteps of Warren B. Hamilton: New Ideas in Earth Science.[4] The first chapter[5] of this book describes how Hamilton's last paper was written; the second applies Thomas Kuhn's model of scientific change to interpreting Hamilton's career.

  1. ^ Hamilton, L.C., G.R. Foulger, S.R. Hamilton, K.A. Howard & S.A. Stein. 2019. “Memorial to Warren B. Hamilton, 1925–2018.” Geological Society of American Memorials 48. https://www.geosociety.org/documents/gsa/memorials/v48/Hamilton-WB.pdf
  2. ^ Warren B. Hamilton obituary
  3. ^ Hamilton, Warren B. (2019). "Toward a myth-free geodynamic history of Earth and its neighbors". Earth-Science Reviews. 198: 102905. Bibcode:2019ESRv..19802905H. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.102905. S2CID 201298074.
  4. ^ Foulger, Gillian R.; Hamilton, Lawrence C.; Jurdy, Donna M.; Stein, Carol A.; Howard, Keith A.; Stein, Seth, eds. (2022). In the Footsteps of Warren B. Hamilton: New Ideas in Earth Science. doi:10.1130/SPE553. ISBN 9780813725536.
  5. ^ [1]Hamilton, L.C. 2022. "On the last paper of Warren B. Hamilton," in Foulger, G.R.; Hamilton, L.C.; Jurdy, D.M.; Stein, C.A.; Howard, K.A.; Stein, S. (eds.), 2022, In the Footsteps of Warren B. Hamilton: New Ideas in Earth Science, Geological Society of America. https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE553.