David White was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 geologist

Geologist

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...

, born in Palmyra, New York

Palmyra (town), New York

Palmyra is a town in Wayne County, New York, USA. The population was 7,672 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the ancient city Palmyra in Syria....

.

He graduated from Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 in 1886, and in 1889 became a member of the United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

. Eventually, he rose to be chief geologist.

In 1903 he became an associate curator of paleobotany

Paleobotany

Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...

 at the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

. He wrote numerous papers on geological and paleontological subjects.

The David White House

David White House

David White House was a home of geologist David White .It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.-External links:*...

, his home for 15 years, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

.

He made one of the most comprehensive studies on the Glossopteris Flora, the main component of the fossil deposits of mineral coal in Brazil .

David White won the Thompson Medal

Mary Clark Thompson Medal

The Mary Clark Thompson Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for most important service to geology and paleontology." Named after Mary Clark Thompson, it was first awarded in 1921.- List of Mary Clark Thompson Medal winners :...

 in 1931 and the Walcott Medal

Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal

Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal is an award presented by the National Academy of Sciences every five years to promote research and study in the fields of Precambrian and Cambrian life and history. The medal was established and endowed in 1934 by the Walcott Fund, a gift of Mary Vaux Walcott, in...

 in 1934. He "himself considered that his structure-carbon ratio for the occurrence of oil and gas was his greatest scientific achievement."

Publications

• Flora of the outlying Carboniferous basins of southwestern Missouri US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 98 (1893)
• Fossil flora of the lower coal measures of Missouri US Geological Survey Monograph No. 37 (1899)
• The geology of the Perry Basin in southeastern Maine with G.O. Smith. US Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 35 (1905)
• The effect of oxygen in coal US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 382 (1909)
• Shorter contributions to general geology, 1913 US Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 85 (1914)