Smith, George O.

Smith, George O. (Otis) (1871–1944) geologist; born in Hodgdon, Maine. He joined the U.S. Geological Survey (1896), and became its director (1907). He maintained his directorship until 1930, except for his one year on the U.S. Coal Commission (1922–23). He became chairman of President Hoover's Federal Power Commission (1930–33). An authority on the coal and oil industries, Smith's advocacy of increased regulation of natural energy helped enact more restrictive legislation on Federal mining and land use.