Josiah D. Whitney and William P. Blake: Conflicts in Relation to California Geology and the Fate of the First California Geological Survey

Abstract

Josiah D. Whitney and William P. Blake shared common social and educational backgrounds and pursued similar professional career paths at a time when employment in geology was undependable. Their professional paths crossed numerous times over the course of five decades in what initially was an amicable professional relationship that evolved by 1860 into competition for state geologist and director of the first California Geological Survey, and California commissioner for the London International Exhibition. Beyond simple competition, Whitney and Blake disagreed over important mainstream geological and ethnological issues germane to California during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The primary issues evolved around the potential economic value of oil and the Bodie Mining District, earthquakes and seismic risk, origin of the Yosemite Valley, the significance of the Calaveras Skull and the antiquity of man, the age of the gold-bearing rocks of California, and formation of the College of California. Both men were influential, however, Blake's contributions to the early geologic understanding of California were more optimistic and compatible with California's needs, while correctly forecasting the state's potential growth and providing insight into the geology and mineral and agricultural resources of the region. Despite Whitney's contributions while serving as director, his personal disposition and pessimistic views sealed the fate of the first geological survey of California.