Orville Adalbert Derby was an American 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 Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

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Education

Derby studied geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 at the 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...

, obtaining his degree in 1873. While a student, he was invited in 1870 by his professor Charles Frederick Hartt

Charles Frederick Hartt

Charles Frederick Hartt was an Canadian-American geologist, paleontologist and naturalist who specialized in the geology of Brazil.-Exploration in Brazil:...

 (1840-1878) to follow him in a study travel to Brazil (the Morgan Expedition), and returning again with him in 1871, this time going to the Tapajós River in the Amazon. Just after his graduation, Derby accepted a post of assistant professor at Cornell and briefly substituted for Hartt during another travel to Brazil in 1874. In June of the same year, Derby got his doctoral degree with a dissertation on the Carboniferous

Carboniferous

The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...

 brachiopoda in the Amazon

Amazon River

The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...

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Brazil

When Hartt organized the first Geological Commission of the Empire of Brazil, Derby was nominated its assistant and returned to Brazil in December 1875. In 1877, with the end of the Commission, Derby decided to stay in Brazil and accepted a post at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro

Museu Nacional (Brazil)

The National Museum of Brazil is a centenarian museum and research institution, located in the Quinta da Boa Vista park in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.-History:...

. He became also a member and director of the Geographic and Geological Commission of São Paulo

São Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 from 1886 to 1904. This commission later originated the Astronomical and Geophysical Institute of the University of São Paulo

University of São Paulo

Universidade de São Paulo is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious...

. Derby founded also the first Botanical Gardens in São Paulo ("Horto Botânico"). In 1906 he was nominated to the Brazilian Geographic and Geological Survey.

Derby worked in many domains of the geological sciences, such as mineralogy

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...

, economic geology

Economic geology

Economic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be used for economic and/or industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals, construction-grade stone, petroleum minerals, coal, and water. The term commonly refers to metallic mineral deposits...

, physical geography

Physical geography

Physical geography is one of the two major subfields of geography. Physical geography is that branch of natural science which deals with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere, as opposed to the cultural or built environment, the...

, cartography

Cartography

Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...

, petrography

Petrography

Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. Petrographic descriptions start with the field notes at the...

, meteorology

Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

, archeology and paleontology

Paleontology

Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...

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Publications

He published 173 papers on the geology of Brazil from 1873 to 1915. He was also the publisher of one of the first geological maps of Brazil, in 1915.

Personal life and death

Dr. Orville Derby never married and led a solitary existence, living mostly in hotel rooms. After the failure of an invitation by the state government of Bahia

Bahia

Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

, he returned to Rio de Janeiro and committed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

in a hotel room, on November 27, 1915, a few months after gaining Brazilian citizenship. He was 64 years old.

Further reading

• Diniz Gonsalves, A., 1952 - Orville A. Derby's Studies on the Paleontology of Brazil - Published under the direction of the Executive Commission for the 1st Centenary Commemorating the birth of Orville A. Derby, and sponsored by the American Embassy in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro, 1952.