author
William Herbert Hobbs
1864–1952
A pioneering American geologist and polar explorer, he helped bring glaciers, earthquakes, and Greenland expeditions to a wider public. His career joined field science, teaching, and a talent for writing books for both specialists and general readers.
1 Audiobook
Earth Features and Their Meaning An Introduction to Geology for the Student and the General Reader
by William Herbert Hobbs
About the author
Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1864, William Herbert Hobbs studied at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and earned his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins. He went on to build a long academic career in geology, including many years at the University of Michigan, where he served as professor and departmental leader.
Hobbs was known not only as a geologist but also as an explorer. He led four expeditions to Greenland and became especially associated with the study of glaciers, earthquakes, and physical geography. His writing reached beyond the laboratory, with books that introduced earth science to students and general readers as well as more specialized scientific work.
Late in life, he published an autobiography, An Explorer-Scientist's Pilgrimage (1952). Remembered as an energetic field scientist and teacher, he left a mark on both American geology and the popular understanding of the planet's changing surface.