Clarke, Frank Wigglesworth

Clarke, Frank Wigglesworth 

Born Mar. 19, 1847, in Boston; died May 23, 1931, in Washington, D.C. American geochemist. Became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1911.

Clarke graduated from Harvard University in 1867. He was a professor at the University of Cincinnati from 1874 to 1883 and chief chemist of the U.S. Geological Survey from 1883 to 1924. Clarke’s principal works were devoted to determining the composition of various inorganic natural formations and of the earth’s crust as a whole. Using a method that he developed himself, Clarke made numerous calculations concerning the average composition of the earth’s crust.

WORKS

Data of Geochemistry, 5th ed. Washington, D.C., 1924.
The Composition of the Earth’s Crust. Washington, D.C., 1924. (With H. S. Washington.)
The Evolution and Disintegration of Matter. Washington, D.C., 1924.

REFERENCES

Clarke, F. W. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. 88, 1932.
Dennis, L. M., and F. W. Clarke. Science, vol. 74, 1931. Pages 212–13.