Raphael Zon
Encyclopedia
Raphael Zon was a prominent U.S. Forest Service
researcher.
in the Russian Empire
in 1874, to parents Gabriel Zon and Eugenia Berliner. A classmate of Lenin's, he fled Russia in 1896 while on bail following arrest for organizing a trade union. Zon and companion Anna Puziriskaya, whom he would later marry, fled to Belgium where he studied in Liége.
He spent nine months in London
before emigrating to the United States in 1898.
at the New York State College of Forestry at Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York
, earning a professional degree of Forest Engineer (F.E.) in the college's first graduating class in 1901.
, where his career spanned 43 years as a forest researcher. Zon was a protege' of both Dr. Bernhard Fernow and Gifford Pinchot
, first Chief of the United States Forest Service
, and a close friend of Bob Marshall
in the 1930s.
Zon made significant contributions to forestry literature. Many of his more than 200 scientific publications have been translated into Russian, French, German, and Japanese. With Bernard Fernow
, Zon helped establish American forestry’s professional periodical literature. These contributions began when he joined the editorial staff of Forest Quarterly. He deepened his involvement, becoming editor of the Proceedings of the Society of American Foresters in 1905. When Forest Quarterly and Proceedings merged, Zon became one of the founders and the first managing editor of the combined publication, the Journal of Forestry. He served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Forestry from 1923-28.
Zon was a "giant" among American foresters, or as Secretary of Agriculture Claude R. Wickard
said, the "dean of all foresters of America."
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
researcher.
Early Life
Raphael Zon was born in SimbirskUlyanovsk
Ulyanovsk The city is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin , for whom it is named.-History:Simbirsk was founded in 1648 by the boyar Bogdan Khitrovo. The fort of "Simbirsk" was strategically placed on a hill on the Western bank of the Volga River...
in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in 1874, to parents Gabriel Zon and Eugenia Berliner. A classmate of Lenin's, he fled Russia in 1896 while on bail following arrest for organizing a trade union. Zon and companion Anna Puziriskaya, whom he would later marry, fled to Belgium where he studied in Liége.
He spent nine months in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
before emigrating to the United States in 1898.
Education
Zon studied forestryForestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
at the New York State College of Forestry at Cornell
New York State College of Forestry at Cornell
The New York State College of Forestry at Cornell was a statutory college established in 1898 at Cornell University to teach scientific forestry. The first four-year college of forestry in the country, it was defunded by the State of New York in 1903, over controversies involving the college's...
University in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, earning a professional degree of Forest Engineer (F.E.) in the college's first graduating class in 1901.
Career
Upon graduation, he went to work for the U.S. Forest ServiceUnited States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
, where his career spanned 43 years as a forest researcher. Zon was a protege' of both Dr. Bernhard Fernow and Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania...
, first Chief of the United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
, and a close friend of Bob Marshall
Bob Marshall (wilderness activist)
Robert "Bob" Marshall was an American forester, writer and wilderness activist. The son of wealthy constitutional lawyer and conservationist Louis Marshall, Bob Marshall developed a love for the outdoors as a young child...
in the 1930s.
Zon made significant contributions to forestry literature. Many of his more than 200 scientific publications have been translated into Russian, French, German, and Japanese. With Bernard Fernow
Bernard Fernow
Bernhard Eduard Fernow was the third chief of the USDA's Division of Forestry of the United States from 1886 – 1898, preceding Gifford Pinchot in that position, and laying much of the groundwork for the establishment of the United States Forest Service in 1905. Pinchot was the first Chief...
, Zon helped establish American forestry’s professional periodical literature. These contributions began when he joined the editorial staff of Forest Quarterly. He deepened his involvement, becoming editor of the Proceedings of the Society of American Foresters in 1905. When Forest Quarterly and Proceedings merged, Zon became one of the founders and the first managing editor of the combined publication, the Journal of Forestry. He served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Forestry from 1923-28.
Zon was a "giant" among American foresters, or as Secretary of Agriculture Claude R. Wickard
Claude R. Wickard
Claude Raymond Wickard served as Secretary of Agriculture under President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1940 to 1945. Wickard was born on his family farm in Carroll County, Indiana, near Camden...
said, the "dean of all foresters of America."
Commemoration
A large stone memorial with plaque commemorating Zon stands at the USDA Cutfoot Sioux Experimental Forest, in Minnesota, near where his ashes were scattered.Career
- 1901. U.S. Forest ServiceUnited States Forest ServiceThe United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
Student Assistant and assistant to forest investigations in the East - 1907. Chief, Office of Silvics, later Forest Investigations
- 1920. Special investigations in forest economics
- 1923. Director, Lakes States Forest Experiment Station, St. Paul, Minnesota
- 1923-1928 Director, Cloquet Forest Experiment Station, University of MinnesotaUniversity of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
- 1944. Retired, U.S. Forest Service
Professional Accomplishments
- 1908. Proposed the establishment of decentralized U.S. Forest Experiment Stations
- 1914. Charter member, Ecological Society of AmericaEcological Society of AmericaThe Ecological Society of America is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States, ESA publishes a suite of publications, from peer-reviewed journals to newsletters, fact sheets and teaching resources. It holds an annual meeting at different locations in the...
- 1918. National Research Council, Division of Agriculture, Botany, Forestry, Fisheries and Zoology Executive Committee
- 1923-1928. Editor-in-chief, Journal of ForestryJournal of ForestryThe Journal of Forestry is the primary scholarly journal of the Society of American Foresters that aims to advance the forestry profession, keeping professional foresters informed about developments and ideas related to the practice of forestry. The journal publishes editorial and technical content...
- 1928. International Congress of Soil Science, American vice president of the subcommision of forest soils
- 1930. Charles Lathrop PackCharles Lathrop PackCharles Lathrop Pack , a third-generation timberman, was "one of the five wealthiest men in America prior to World War I". He owed his good start in life to the success of his father, George Willis Pack, and grandfather, George Pack in the forestry sector. Growing up on Lake Huron in Michigan's...
Forest Education Board - 1940. New York World's Fair "Foreign-born citizens judged to have made the most notable contributions to American democracy in the past 100 years"
- Fellow, Society of American Foresters
- 1952. Gifford PinchotGifford PinchotGifford Pinchot was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania...
Medal, Society of American Foresters - 2005. U.S. Forest Service Centennial Congress Science Leadership Award
- Authored or co-authored roughly 200 articles in professional journals, business and development publicaitons, or popular magazines
- Gifford Pinchot's groundbreaking autobiography, Breaking New Ground, published in 1947 (and still in print), would never have been written without the help of Raphael Zon whom he called "my adviser and my guide."
External links
- "A Red Star is Born." Peeling Back the Bark.
- http://www.fsl.orst.edu/geowater/PEP/afsc/miller/"The Greatest Good: 100 years" a Video on the life and legacy of Raphael Zon by Char Miller