Henry Smith Munroe
Encyclopedia
Henry Smith Munroe (born Henry Maynard Smith) was an American
geologist
who worked in Meiji period
Japan
as a foreign advisor
to the Japanese government.
, New York
and obtained a Masters of Engineering at Columbia University
in 1869. From 1870 to 1871 he worked as Assistant Geologist with the Ohio
State Geological Survey. Between 1870 and 1872 he occupied the post of Assistant Chemist at the United States Department of Agriculture
.
Hired by the Japanese government on a three year contract from 1872 and 1875 Munroe was assigned to Yesso
(now Hokkaidō
), in northern Japan as Assistant Geologist and Mining Engineer with the Geological Survey of Yesso during the Hokkaidō Colonization Agency. Munroe was one of a group of foreign engineers (including Horace Capron
, Thomas Antisell, A.G. Warfield and Benjamin Lyman) who conducted a land and resources survey of Hokkaidō, with the particular aim of developing its mineral resources. Munroe was assigned to work with Lyman on a geological survey
after Antisell had been dismissed from his post due to personal conflicts with Capron. His work laid the foundations for the future coal mining
industry in Hokkaido.
At the conclusion of his contract, Munroe was hired as a professor of Geology and Mining at the Tokyo Imperial University from 1875 and 1876.
Munroe returned to the United States
, and obtained his Ph.D.
at Columbia University
in 1877, where he subsequently became Adjunct Professor of Mining until 1891. He was Professor of Mining at Columbia from 1891 until 1915. From 1897 to 1899 he was Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Columbia University. In 1917 he became Consulting Engineer to the United States Bureau of Mines
. His brother, Edmund Munroe Smith
, was also a professor at Columbia.
On 4 May 1933 Munroe died at home in Litchfield, Connecticut
.
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...
who worked in Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as a foreign advisor
O-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
to the Japanese government.
Biography
Munroe was born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and obtained a Masters of Engineering at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1869. From 1870 to 1871 he worked as Assistant Geologist with the Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
State Geological Survey. Between 1870 and 1872 he occupied the post of Assistant Chemist at the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
.
Hired by the Japanese government on a three year contract from 1872 and 1875 Munroe was assigned to Yesso
Ezo
is a Japanese name which historically referred to the lands to the north of Japan. It was used in various senses, sometimes meaning the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and sometimes meaning lands and waters further north in the Sea of Okhotsk, like Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands...
(now Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
), in northern Japan as Assistant Geologist and Mining Engineer with the Geological Survey of Yesso during the Hokkaidō Colonization Agency. Munroe was one of a group of foreign engineers (including Horace Capron
Horace Capron
Horace Capron was an American businessman and agriculturalist, a founder of Laurel, Maryland, a Union officer in the American Civil War, the United States Commissioner of Agriculture under U.S. Presidents Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S...
, Thomas Antisell, A.G. Warfield and Benjamin Lyman) who conducted a land and resources survey of Hokkaidō, with the particular aim of developing its mineral resources. Munroe was assigned to work with Lyman on a geological survey
Geological survey
The term geological survey can be used to describe both the conduct of a survey for geological purposes and an institution holding geological information....
after Antisell had been dismissed from his post due to personal conflicts with Capron. His work laid the foundations for the future coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
industry in Hokkaido.
At the conclusion of his contract, Munroe was hired as a professor of Geology and Mining at the Tokyo Imperial University from 1875 and 1876.
Munroe returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and obtained his Ph.D.
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1877, where he subsequently became Adjunct Professor of Mining until 1891. He was Professor of Mining at Columbia from 1891 until 1915. From 1897 to 1899 he was Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Columbia University. In 1917 he became Consulting Engineer to the United States Bureau of Mines
United States Bureau of Mines
For most of the 20th century, the U.S. Bureau of Mines was the primary United States Government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral resources.- Summary :...
. His brother, Edmund Munroe Smith
Munroe Smith
Edmund Munroe Smith , was an American jurist and historian.-Family and education:Smith was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Horatio Southgate Smith and his wife, Susan Dwight Munroe. He received his A.B. from Amherst College in 1874 and his LL.B. from Columbia Law School in 1877. In 1879,...
, was also a professor at Columbia.
On 4 May 1933 Munroe died at home in Litchfield, Connecticut
Litchfield, Connecticut
Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and is known as an affluent summer resort. The population was 8,316 at the 2000 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town...
.