text: charles henry smyth , jr . charles henry smyth , jr . ( / / ; march 31 , 1866 – april 4 , 1937 ) was an american geologist . born to a prominent family in upstate new york , he studied geology at columbia university before becoming a professor of geology at hamilton college and princeton university . at princeton he strengthened the department of geology 's graduate program . smyth specialized in petrology , chemical geology , and economic geology . he showed the sedimentary origin of iron ore deposits near his native clinton , new york , mapped the geology of the western adirondack mountains , and published a well known monograph on the origins of alkaline igneous rocks . he was a fellow of the american association for the advancement of science , a member of the american philosophical society , and a fellow of the geological society of america . family smyth was born march 31 , 1866 , in oswego , new york , the second son of alice dewolf smyth and charles henry smyth , sr. in 1873 , he moved with his family to nearby clinton , new york . his mother belonged to a well known oswego banking and manufacturing family . his father was a prominent local businessman , holding executive positions at the franklin iron works , clinton bank , and the company that managed the niagara falls suspension bridge . he also served on the vestry of the local episcopal church and was a brigadier general in the new york guard . the family was considered among the local elite in clinton . katharine blunt was a first cousin . on july 30 , 1891 , the younger charles smyth married ruth anne phelps , originally of shreveport , louisiana . they had two children , charles phelps smyth ( 1895 – 1990 ) and henry dewolf smyth ( 1898 – 1986 ) . both became professors of science at princeton university . education smyth studied at clinton grammar school in his youth . he became interested in geology at a young age : his native region of upstate new york had many fossils , and his family 's business involved extracting the local iron ore . in 1884 , he entered hamilton college in clinton , where he studied science . after a year he transferred to the school of mines at columbia university . at columbia he was president of the glee club . he graduated in 1888 as one of the top three students in his class . smyth continued his studies at cornell university under james furman kemp and harvard university under nathaniel shaler . he also worked as an analytical chemist at the franklin iron works , his father 's company . he earned his ph.d. in geology from columbia in 1890 , writing a dissertation titled " the origin of the clinton type of iron ore " . he then spent an additional year studying petrology at heidelberg university under harry , the world expert in the field . career in 1891 smyth returned to hamilton college to become the stone professor of natural history . in addition to his teaching duties at hamilton , smyth spent each summer from 1892 to 1903 doing field work for the new york state museum in the western adirondack mountains , which had been studied very little in the fifty years prior . he collaborated with his old advisor kemp , who specialized in the eastern adirondacks , and henry platt cushing , who claimed the northern and northeastern sections . he returned to field work a final time in 1908 ; ill health prevented further expeditions . in 1905 woodrow wilson , then president of princeton university , convinced smyth to join the princeton faculty , where smyth remained until retiring in 1934 . he strengthened the graduate program in the department of geology , which awarded only two advanced degrees before 1912 ; during his 29 years , another 31 degrees were awarded . among his students were arthur francis and albert orion hayes . his courses in petrology and chemical geology introduced students to subjects that were relatively new in the united states . smyth was a fellow of the american association for the advancement of science , a member of the american philosophical society , and a fellow of the geological society of america . he was also a member of the society of economic geologists , the american institute of mining and metallurgical engineers , the washington academy of sciences , phi beta kappa , and sigma xi . research smyth 's research was in the subfields of petrology , chemical geology , and economic geology . when he began his research most american geologists who used chemistry were mineralogists , volcanologists , or specialists in ore . smyth was a pioneer in chemical petrology , applying chemistry to ordinary rocks , in the united states . in his dissertation he argued that the iron ore near clinton was a primary sediment ; at the time the deposits were believed to be secondary nodules formed by replacement of primary limestone . his princeton graduate student hayes proved a similar result about the iron ores of his native , newfoundland and labrador . in 1919 , smyth showed that a green mineral in the clinton ores was and also a primary sediment . smyth , kemp , and cushing 's field work in the adirondacks yielded detailed geologic maps of the challenging region . smyth described the nature and origins of the area 's rocks and mineral deposits . his conclusions were still largely accepted at the time of his death in 1937 . his two best known contributions were his work on the clinton iron ore and a 1927 monograph about the origins of alkaline igneous rocks . later life and legacy in his later years smyth suffered from poor health , which an obituary in princeton alumni weekly blamed on " overwork in certain rugged inaccessible wilderness portions of the adirondacks . " he contracted tonsilitis during his 1898 expedition to the adirondacks and suffered heart and digestive troubles thereafter . he died april 4 , 1937 , at princeton hospital . the cause was pneumonia and complications from a recent hip fracture . the mineral is named after him . its properties resemble those of samples smyth studied in upstate new york .