Citizenship American Fields geology, speleologist | Name William Davies | |
Born 24 December 1917
Cleveland, OH ( 1917-12-24 ) Died June 27, 1990(1990-06-27) (aged 72) Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michigan State University | ||
Institutions U.S. Geological Survey | ||
William Edward Davies (December 24, 1917 – June 27, 1990) was a notable American geologist, speleologist and official of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). He produced pioneering surveys of West Virginia and Maryland caves.
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Biography
Davies was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a master's degree in geology at Michigan State University. He came to Washington, DC during World War II, at which time he was an officer with the Army Map Service. He stayed on as a civilian until 1949, when he joined the USGS. His assignments included surveying caves in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and research on permafrost. Until the publication of his work on caves in Maryland, the topic was virtually unknown to the public. In the mid-1950s he took part in a USGS expedition to Antarctica. The Davies Escarpment in Antarctica was named for him. He retired in the mid-1980s.
Davies died of a heart attack at age 72 in Falls Church, Virginia, and was survived by his wife, Geraldine, a son and a daughter.