author
Stephen Sargent Visher
1887–1967
A prolific geographer of Indiana and the Midwest, he wrote widely on climate, ecology, and regional history. His long academic career also included work now remembered for its ties to eugenics, making his legacy a notable and complicated one.
1 Audiobook
Climatic Changes: Their Nature and Causes
by Ellsworth Huntington, Stephen Sargent Visher
About the author
Born in Chicago on December 15, 1887, Stephen Sargent Visher became an American geographer whose work ranged across physical geography, ecology, climate, and regional studies. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and also received an A.M. from the University of South Dakota.
Visher spent most of his professional life at Indiana University, where he began teaching geography in 1919. He wrote extensively, especially about Indiana, and was known as the author or contributor of many books and a large number of articles. His subjects included the geography of Indiana, climate, and the backgrounds of scientists, reflecting a broad curiosity about both places and people.
Today, Visher is also remembered for promoting eugenic ideas alongside his academic work. That part of his record has shaped how later readers view his career, placing his contributions to geography beside a more troubling intellectual legacy. He died in Bloomington, Indiana, on October 25, 1967.