Born Aug. 5, 1883, in Plymouth, USA; died Jan. 16, 1960, in the United States. American geologist. Doctor of philosophy (1926). Professor (1916). Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Mead graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1906. He taught at the University of Wisconsin from 1908 to 1934, the University of California from 1926 to 1927, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1934 to 1954. His principal works deal with engineering geology and processes of metamorphism. Mead was a consultant for large hydraulic-engineering installations. He was also a consultant in the exploration and mining of bauxite and fluorite. A member of the American Geological Society, Mead served as its president in 1938.