Frank Lewis Nason

Born in 1856 and dying in 1928, Frank Lewis Nason was an American geologist, mining engineer, and author. Records of his published work show that he wrote on minerals and mining topics, including Some New York minerals and their localities and A report on the iron ores of Missouri.

He also published fiction, with works such as The Blue Goose, To the End of the Trail, and The Vision of Elijah Berl. That mix of technical writing and novels suggests a writer who was comfortable in both the scientific and literary worlds.

Today, he is remembered through his geological publications and the surviving editions of his books in library and public-domain collections. Even from the small record available online, he comes across as a versatile late-19th- and early-20th-century author whose interests ranged well beyond a single field.