C. K. (Charles Kenneth) Leith

Born in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, in 1875, Charles Kenneth Leith studied at the University of Wisconsin and spent most of his career there. He joined the faculty in the early 1900s and went on to lead the university’s geology department for many years, becoming one of the most influential American geologists of his generation.

Leith was especially known for his work on iron formations, Precambrian geology, and structural geology. He wrote and co-wrote important books and reports, including studies of the Lake Superior region, and his research helped connect academic geology with mining and other practical uses of earth science.

His reputation reached well beyond the classroom. He advised on questions of mineral resources and national policy, and in 1942 he received the Penrose Medal, one of the highest honors in geoscience. He died in 1956, remembered as both a major scientist and a builder of American geology.