|
''François Émile Matthes'' (– ) was a geologist and an expert in topographic mapping, glaciers, and climate change. He mapped remote areas of the American West for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). His maps coincided with the development of those areas into national parks. He is one of the founders of the Association of American Geographers and served as its president. Matthes resolved a dispute about formation of the Yosemite Valley and his findings on glaciers introduced the terms nivation and Little Ice Age. ==Childhood== Fraternal twins François and Gerard were born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to distinguished parents. Father, Willem Ernst Matthes (- ? ), was partner of the successful firm Matthes and Bormeester, importers of colonial rubber, indigo and hemp from the Dutch East Indies. He was also a director of Natura Artis Magistra, president of Felix Meritis, founder of a riding academy and Lieutenant Colonel for the National Guard artillery unit in Amsterdam. Mother Jonkvrouw Johanna Susanna (van der Does de Bye) Matthes (- ? ) was a descendent of Jan van der Does, who had led the resistance against the Spanish during the Siege of Leiden. The couple had married in Amsterdam . Their home was a mansion located on the Heeren Gracht near Vijzelstraat. The twins were their only children. During a vacation at Biarritz in France, the boys discovered that boulders strewn along the shore contained fossils. They broke open rocks with small hammers and carried their favorite fossils back to their room. When it came time to depart for home, their collection had grown so heavy that their mother insisted it all be left. At a young age, both boys were instructed in technical drawing with pencil, charcoal and ink on tracing linen with T-square and triangle. The art of Frederic Remington was a drawing inspiration to François as his surviving sketch books attest with pages of animals, in particular horses. Around age eight, the boys exhibited symptoms of malaria. The disease was common in Amsterdam from mosquitoes freely breeding in the canals but the vector relationship was not yet understood. The family doctor recommended that the boys be removed for a few years to recover up into the Alps. The decision to go turned into their permanent departure from their Amsterdam home. During breaks from school over the next years, the family would vacation at various alpine resorts. One momentous destination for François was Bossons Glacier at Mont Blanc. Willem, during short visits, also taught the boys mountaineering and their favorite climb was Dent de Jaman. A gift of General Dufour series cloth-mounted military maps came with their father's personal training. They would orient with the maps during excursions into the mountains to collect insects. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「François E. Matthes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|