Roland Duer Irving 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...

. He was born in New York city and graduated from Columbia College School of Mines in 1869 as a mining engineer. In 1879, he received his Ph.D., also from Columbia.

Soon after his graduation he became assistant on the Ohio geological survey, and in 1870 was elected professor of 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...

, mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

, and metallurgy

Metallurgy

Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...

 in the University of Wisconsin. In 1879 the title of his chair was changed to that of geology and 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...

. He became assistant state geologist of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 in 1878, and continued as such until 1879. During 1880-1882 he was one of the United States census experts, and in 1882 was made geologist in charge of the Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

 division of the United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

. His specialty is the micro-petrography of the fragmental rocks and crystalline schist

Schist

The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...

s, and pre-Cambrian stratigraphy

Stratigraphy

Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....

 and the genesis of some of the so-called crystalline rocks. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of 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...

 in the United States.

He was the father of John Duer Irving

John Duer Irving

John Duer Irving was an American geologist. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin. He graduated from Columbia University in 1896 and 1899. He was a member of the 11th Engineers, U.S. Army during World War I and died in France on July 1, 1918, of pneumonia.In 1899, he joined the United States...

, another noted geologist and editor of the journal Economic Geology from 1905-1918.

Publications

• "Geology of Central Wisconsin" Wisconsin Geological Survey (1877)
• "Geology of the Lake Superior Region" Wisconsin Geological Survey (1880)
• "Crystalline Rocks of the Wisconsin Valley" Wisconsin Geological Survey (1882)
• "Mineralogy and Lithology of Wisconsin" Wisconsin Geological Survey (1888)
• "The Copper-Bearing Rocks of Lake Superior" US Geological Survey Monograph No. 5 (1888)
• "On Secondary Enlargements of Mineral Fragments in Certain Rocks" US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 8(1884)
• "The Archaen Formations of the Northwestern States" US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 86 (1885)
• Observations on the Junction Between the Eastern Sandstone and the Keweenaw Series on Keweenaw ... with Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin. US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 23 (1885)
• "The Classification of the Early Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian Formations" US Geological Survey (1886)
• The Greenstone Schist Areas of the Menominee and Marquette Regions of Michigan: A Contribution ... with George Huntington Williams. US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 62 (1890)