William H. Shideler
Encyclopedia
William Henry "Doc" Shideler (born July 14, 1886 in West Middletown, Ohio and died December 18, 1958 in Oxford, Ohio
) was an American geologist who was founder and longtime chair of the department of geology at Miami University
and was a founder of the national college fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau
.
, when he was quite young. In 1904 he graduated from Hamilton High School and entered Miami University in September of that year. At Miami, he was a member of the varsity track team as a distance runner and was an organizer and member of the nonfraternity intramural teams, whose activities became important to the founding of the Non-Fraternity Association, precursor to Phi Kappa Tau. "Doc" (as he was known from undergraduate days on) was a member of the Erodelphian Literary Society and chaired the Athletic Board of Control in his final year. A member of the campus Democratic Club, he was an outspoken progressive as an undergraduate. Shideler completed his undergraduate work in three years receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree with the class of 1907. He earned his Ph.D. in geology at Cornell University
in 1910 under the direction of the eminent biostratigrapher and student of Louis Agassiz
, Henry Shaler Williams
.
fossils and stratigraphy
that are revealed in the out croppings and creek beds around Oxford, Ohio. In geology circles, Shideler was well known for his fossil collections, occasional publications, and professional activities. Scholars from around the world came to Miami to consult with him and study the specimens he collected. Though he was not a prolific writer, Shideler freely shared information and research, which led to many scholarly publications and Ph. D. theses. He amassed an outstanding collection of type specimens and Upper Ordovician materials for Miami. Thirteen species
, three genera
, one family, and one mountain (Mount Shideler
) in Antarctica were named for him as "a geologist’s way of passing a compliment," he once said. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and the Ohio Academy of Science and served as president of the Ohio Academy in 1951. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi
, Phi Sigma
, Sigma Gamma Epsilon
(served as national vice president for 19 years), Omicron Delta Kappa
and the Geology Society of America and he was past president of the American Geology Teachers organization.
He served as Miami University's representative to the NCAA and was chairman of the Mid-American Conference
.
and was later used in filming the Jodie Foster
movie Little Man Tate
. Phi Kappa Tau's highest undergraduate award has been known as the Shideler Award and has been presented to the fraternity's outstanding graduating senior since 1938.
Foundation grant to go to Hiram College
to start a geology program there, much as he had done for Miami in 1920. He was professor of Geology at Hiram in 1957-58.
In 1967 Miami University named its new earth-science building William H. Shideler Hall in his memory. The Karl Limper Geology Museum
in Shideler Hall has as its basis the huge collection of specimens amassed by Dr. Shideler. He is buried in the Miami University plot of the Oxford Cemetery, next to his wife, Katherine Hoffman Shideler.
The Shidelers had two sons, James Henry Shideler, a noted professor of history at the University of California-Davis, and William Watson Shideler.
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern portion of the state. It lies in Oxford Township, originally called the College Township. The population was 21,943 at the 2000 census. This college town was founded as a home for Miami University. Oxford...
) was an American geologist who was founder and longtime chair of the department of geology at Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
and was a founder of the national college fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau is a U.S. national collegiate fraternity.-History:Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity was founded in the Union Literary Society Hall of Miami University's Old Main Building in Oxford, Ohio on March 17, 1906...
.
Early life and education
His family moved to Hamilton, OhioHamilton, Ohio
Hamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area....
, when he was quite young. In 1904 he graduated from Hamilton High School and entered Miami University in September of that year. At Miami, he was a member of the varsity track team as a distance runner and was an organizer and member of the nonfraternity intramural teams, whose activities became important to the founding of the Non-Fraternity Association, precursor to Phi Kappa Tau. "Doc" (as he was known from undergraduate days on) was a member of the Erodelphian Literary Society and chaired the Athletic Board of Control in his final year. A member of the campus Democratic Club, he was an outspoken progressive as an undergraduate. Shideler completed his undergraduate work in three years receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree with the class of 1907. He earned his Ph.D. in geology at 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...
in 1910 under the direction of the eminent biostratigrapher and student of Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
, Henry Shaler Williams
Henry Shaler Williams
Henry Shaler Williams was an American geologist.He was a graduate of Yale University and student of Louis Agassiz who lectured at Cornell. In 1871, he taught for a year at Transylvania University and then worked in business with his father in Ithaca, New York until joining the Cornell University...
.
Academic career
Shideler was invited to join Miami beginning in 1910 as a member of the zoology faculty. In this capacity, he taught courses in general geology, paleontology, and organic evolution. He persuaded the Miami administration in 1920 to establish a geology department, which he chaired for thirty-six years. As a paleontologist, he became an expert on the Upper OrdovicianOrdovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
fossils and 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....
that are revealed in the out croppings and creek beds around Oxford, Ohio. In geology circles, Shideler was well known for his fossil collections, occasional publications, and professional activities. Scholars from around the world came to Miami to consult with him and study the specimens he collected. Though he was not a prolific writer, Shideler freely shared information and research, which led to many scholarly publications and Ph. D. theses. He amassed an outstanding collection of type specimens and Upper Ordovician materials for Miami. Thirteen species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, three genera
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
, one family, and one mountain (Mount Shideler
Mount Shideler
Mount Shideler is a peak 1 mile southeast of Mount Fitzsimmons in the north group of the Rockefeller Mountains on Edward VII Peninsula. Discovered on January 27, 1929, by members of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition on an exploratory flight over this area. The name appears to have been applied by the...
) in Antarctica were named for him as "a geologist’s way of passing a compliment," he once said. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
and the Ohio Academy of Science and served as president of the Ohio Academy in 1951. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...
, Phi Sigma
Phi Sigma
Phi Sigma is an honor society for students of biological sciences. Phi Sigma was founded on March 17, 1915 at Ohio State University. It became a member of the Association of College Honor Societies in 1950. The Greek letter, Phi and Sigma, signify "fellows in science." The coat of arms contains...
, Sigma Gamma Epsilon
Sigma Gamma Epsilon
The Society of Sigma Gamma Epsilon is a national honor society to recognize scholarship in the earth sciences founded in 1915 at the University of Kansas. It has chartered more than 200 chapters at colleges and universities across the United States....
(served as national vice president for 19 years), Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa, or ΟΔΚ, also known as The Circle, or more commonly ODK, is a national leadership honor society. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, by 15 student and faculty leaders. Chapters, known as Circles, are located on over 300...
and the Geology Society of America and he was past president of the American Geology Teachers organization.
He served as Miami University's representative to the NCAA and was chairman of the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
.
Fraternity involvement
In Phi Kappa Tau, Shideler held almost every national office, including a term as national president in 1913-14. He was instrumental in bringing the fraternity’s National Headquarters to Oxford in 1930, and the fraternity's national office was within a block of his home and campus office. The Shidelers lived in a historic Oxford home that had belonged to David SwingDavid Swing
David Swing was a United States teacher and clergyman who was the most popular Chicago preacher of his time.- Early life :Swing was born to Alsatian immigrant parents in Cincinnati, Ohio....
and was later used in filming the Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
movie Little Man Tate
Little Man Tate
Little Man Tate is a 1991 motion picture drama directed by and starring Jodie Foster.It tells the story of Fred Tate, a 7-year-old child prodigy who struggles to self-actualize in a social and psychological construct that largely fails to accommodate his intelligence...
. Phi Kappa Tau's highest undergraduate award has been known as the Shideler Award and has been presented to the fraternity's outstanding graduating senior since 1938.
Retirement and legacy
He deferred his retirement from Miami three times, finally giving up the chairmanship of his department in 1956. When he retired the following year, he was the recipient of a John Hay WhitneyJohn Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney , colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and a member of the Whitney family.-Family:...
Foundation grant to go to Hiram College
Hiram College
Hiram College is a private liberal arts college located in Hiram, Ohio. Founded by Amos Sutton Hayden of the Disciples of Christ Church in 1850, the institution has, since its first days, been nonsectarian and coeducational, and throughout its existence Hiram College has sustained this egalitarian...
to start a geology program there, much as he had done for Miami in 1920. He was professor of Geology at Hiram in 1957-58.
In 1967 Miami University named its new earth-science building William H. Shideler Hall in his memory. The Karl Limper Geology Museum
Karl Limper Geology Museum
The Karl Limper Geology Museum is located in Shideler Hall at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. It is in room 008, which is the lowest level of the building. The museum was established in 1968 and contains a collection of ore minerals, meteorites, and a 16 inch trilobite. Much of the basis of...
in Shideler Hall has as its basis the huge collection of specimens amassed by Dr. Shideler. He is buried in the Miami University plot of the Oxford Cemetery, next to his wife, Katherine Hoffman Shideler.
The Shidelers had two sons, James Henry Shideler, a noted professor of history at the University of California-Davis, and William Watson Shideler.