Memorial to Samuel Weidman, 1870–1945

Abstract

Samuel Weidman, Professor Emeritus of Geology at the University of Oklahoma, field worker, research student, writer of scientific publications, teacher, and beloved friend, died after a long illness on September 22, 1945. Dr. Weidman was born October 11, 1870, near Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in a district noteworthy for the large number of students attending high school and college. He was graduated from Reedsburg high school in 1888 and taught a country school the following year. In 1890, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, electing an honor course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science, which he completed in 1894. His graduate studies were pursued under fellowships at the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin. In 1898, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy was conferred upon him at the latter institution. The next year he was married to Miss Adda Westenhaver, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, School of Music. As geologist for the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 1899-1918, his investigations included the igneous rocks of Fox River Valley, the Baraboo iron-bearing district, the Geology of Central Wisconsin and the soils of a part of northwestern Wisconsin. His summers were spent in field work, travelling by use of horses, a bicycle, and on foot. His winters were spent in studying collections and writing numerous bulletins of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and articles for the Journal of Geology, the American Journal of Science, and the Wisconsin Engineer. In 1920, he transferred to the University of Oklahoma, advancing to Professor of Geology in 1925 and Professor Emeritus in 1943. For several years, he was chairman of the University Research Committee. In Oklahoma, he did field work in the Arbuckle and Wichita Mountains and the zinc and lead region of northeastern Oklahoma. His work on the MiamiPitcher Zinc and Lead District was published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 1932. Dr. Weidman became a fellow of Geological Society of America in 1903, fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Oklahoma Academy of Science of which he was president in 1924. He was a member of American Institute of Mining and Mineralogical Engineers, Association of American Geographers, American Association of University Professors, and the University of Wisconsin Chapter of Sigma Xi.