David Dale Owen | |
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 David Dale Owen | |
| Born | 24 June 1807 New Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Died | 13 November 1860 (aged 53) New Harmony, Posey County, Indiana |
| Occupation | Geologist |
| Spouse | Caroline Charlotte Neef |
| Children | Col. Alfred Dale Owen (1841) William Herschel Owen (1847) Nina Dale Owen (1849) Anna Owen |
| Parent(s) | Ann (or Anne) Caroline Dale and Robert Owen |
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David Dale Owen (24 June 1807 – 13 November 1860) was a prominent American geologist who conducted the first geological surveys of Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. Owen served as the first state geologist for three states: Kentucky (1854–57), Arkansas (1857–59), and Indiana (1837–39 and 1859–60). His first geological work was as an assistant mapping the geology of Tennessee in 1836. In addition, Owen was appointed as a U.S. geologist in 1839 and led federal surveys of Iowa, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois (1839–40) and in the Upper Midwest (1847-1851). Owen's greatest legacy lies in the eleven volumes of published reports from his state and federal geological surveys, which increased the general knowledge and understanding of American geology, the structural geology and paleontology of the United States, and the mineral wealth of the Midwestern states. Owen's most significant contribution to the field of geology was identifying and naming major geological formations of the Mississippi River Valley and placing them in relative position on a geological timeline. He also helped to standardize the nomenclature of geological structures in the Midwest.
David Dale was the third surviving son of Robert Owen, a Welsh-born socialist reformer who established a social experiment at New Harmony, Indiana. The experiment failed within few years, but David Dale and his three brothers, Robert Dale Owen, William, and Richard Dale Owen, as well as their sister, Jane Dale Owen Fauntleroy, established a permanent home at New Harmony. Owen amassed an extensive personal collection of natural history specimens at New Harmony, as well as a geological laboratory and museum that served as the headquarters of the U.S. Geological Survey until 1856. In addition to his geological survey work, Owen had a minor role in the preliminary design of the Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington, D.C., and recommended the distinctive, dark-red Seneca Creek sandstone that was used in its construction.