Gerald Troost was an American

United States

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

-Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 medical doctor, naturalist

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

, mineralogist

Mineralogy

Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...

, and founding member and first president of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

He studied at the School of Mines

École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris

The École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris was created in 1783 by King Louis XVI in order to train intelligent directors of mines. It is one of the most prominent French engineering schoolsThe École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris (also known as Mines ParisTech, École des Mines de...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 with renown mineralogist René Just Haüy

René Just Haüy

René Just Haüy – 3 June 1822 in Paris) was a French mineralogist, commonly styled the Abbé Haüy after he was made an honorary canon of Notre Dame. He is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Crystallography." -Biography:...

. He is credited with describing new species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

, such as the Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma

Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma

Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma is a venomous pitviper subspecies found in the south central United States. It is the smallest of the three subspecies and tends to be darker in color.-Description:...

) and is honored by having a subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

 named after him, the Cumberland Turtle (Trachemys scripta troostii). In 1825 he joined the New Harmony experiment, in New Harmony, Indiana

New Harmony, Indiana

New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, United States. It lies north of Mount Vernon, the county seat. The population was 916 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. Many of the old Harmonist buildings still stand...

, with Thomas Say

Thomas Say

Thomas Say was an American naturalist, entomologist, malacologist, herpetologist and carcinologist. A taxonomist, he is often considered to be the father of descriptive entomology in the United States. He described more than 1,000 new species of beetles and over 400 species of insects of other...

. In 1827 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, where he became a professor of mineralogy and chemistry at the University of Nashville

University of Nashville

The University of Nashville was an educational institution that existed as a distinct entity from 1826 until 1909. During its history, it operated at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a literary arts college, and a boys preparatory school...

. From 1831 until 1850 he served as the State Geologist of Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. While there he sent animal specimens to John Edwards Holbrook

John Edwards Holbrook

John Edwards Holbrook American zoologist, herpetologist, physician, and naturalist, was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, the son of Silas Holbrook, a teacher, and Mary Edwards....

. His most enduring contribution to science was his method of doing geological surveys, which was carried on by David Dale Owen

David Dale Owen

David Dale Owen was a prominent American geologist. He conducted the first geological surveys of Indiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas.David Dale was the third son of Robert Owen, a Welsh reformer who moved to the United States and established a social experiment at New Harmony, Indiana, where David...

, son of Robert Owen

Robert Owen

Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...

, who went on to do several surveys of the American northwest.

The reddish-colored crystals of a variety willemite

Willemite

Willemite is a zinc silicate mineral and a minor ore of zinc. It is highly fluorescent under shortwave ultraviolet light.It occurs in all different colors in daylight, in fibrous masses, solid brown masses , and apple green gemmy masses.It was discovered in 1830 and named after William I of the...

found in New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

are known as troostite.