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{{Short description|American geologist (1913–1972)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = William Thomas Pecora
| name = William Thomas Pecora
| image = William Thomas Pecora.jpg
| image = William Thomas Pecora.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_size = 250px
| order = 8th
| order = 8th
| title = Director of the [[United States Geological Survey]]
| title = [[Director of the U.S. Geological Survey]]
| term_start = {{Start date|1965}}
| term_start = {{Start date|1965}}
| term_end = {{End date|1971}}
| term_end = {{End date|1971}}
| predecessor = [[Thomas Brennan Nolan]]
| predecessor = [[Thomas Brennan Nolan]]
| successor = [[Vincent Ellis McKelvey]]
| successor = [[Vincent Ellis McKelvey]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|02|01}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|02|01}}
| birth_place = [[Belleville, New Jersey]], USA
| birth_place = [[Belleville, New Jersey]], USA
| death_date = {{death date and age|1972|07|19|1913|02|01}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1972|07|19|1913|02|01}}
| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], USA
| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
⚫
| module = {{Infobox scientist | embed=yes
| nationality = American
| module =
| field = {{flatlist|
*[[Geochemistry]]
⚫
{{Infobox scientist | embed=yes
*[[mineralogy]]
| field = [[Petrology]], [[Geology]]
*[[petrology]]}}
| work_institutions = [[US Geological Survey]]
| work_institutions = [[U.S. Geological Survey]]
| alma_mater = [[Harvard University]] and [[Princeton University]]
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Princeton University]] (BSE)|[[Harvard University]] (PhD)}}
| thesis_title = Petrology and mineralogy of the western Bearpaw Mountains, Montana
| thesis_title = Petrology and mineralogy of the western Bearpaw Mountains, Montana
| thesis_url = https://search.proquest.com/docview/301800120/
| thesis_url = https://proquest.com/docview/301800120
| thesis_year = 1940
| thesis_year = 1940
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_advisor =
Line 30: Line 32:
| footnotes =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
| termstart2 = {{Start date|1971}}
| termend2 = {{End date|1972}}
| title2 = [[Under Secretary of the Interior]]
| predecessor2 = [[Fred J. Russell]]
| successor2 = [[John C. Whitaker]]
| footnotes = <ref>{{cite book|title=Historic Listings of NPS Officials |publisher=NPSHistory.com |chapter=Under/Deputy Secretaries of the Interior |date=2016-04-25 |orig-date=1964 |first=Hiliary A. |last=Tolson}}</ref>
}}
}}


'''William Thomas Pecora II''' (February 1, 1913 – July 19, 1972) was an American [[geologist]] who served as 8th [[Director of the U.S. Geological Survey]] and later as [[Under Secretary of the Interior]]. Pecora had a successful career in both scientific and athletic spheres—he completed in [[fencing]] at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]], and during his lifetime was elected to both the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] and the [[National Academy of Sciences]]. He was an early figure in what is now the [[Landsat program]], and the [[William T. Pecora Award]] for [[remote sensing]] is named after him.
'''William Thomas Pecora''' (February 1, 1913 – July 19, 1972) was an American [[geologist]].


==Life and career==
==Life and career==
Willam Thomas Pecora was born on February 1, 1913, in [[Belleville, New Jersey]], son of Cono and Anna (Amabile) Pecora. Both parents were born in southern Italy, in the village of [[Sant'Arsenio]]. Pecora was the ninth of 10 children, four boys and six girls. His family was in the wholesale import business. In 1929, Pecora was awarded the Charles H. K. Halsey Scholarship that provided a $1,000 annual scholarship at [[Princeton University]], where he majored in [[geology]] and [[engineering geology|geologic engineering]]; he was awarded a bachelor's degree in 1933.<ref name="thesis-bs-1933">{{cite thesis |title=The problem of the Susquehanna Complex : with special reference to specific gravity variations |date=1933 |publisher=[[Princeton University]] |type=B.S. |last=Pecora |first=William Thomas |oclc=281578560}}</ref> After graduation, he stayed on at Princeton as a geology tutor.<ref name=AMObit>Benson, William E. [http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM59/AM59_420.pdf "Memorial of William Thomas Pecora: February 1, 1913 &ndash; July 19, 1972"], ''American Mineralogist'', Volume 59, pages 420&ndash;423, 1974. Accessed January 12, 2009.</ref>
William Thomas Pecora II{{Efn|This generational suffix is listed on his [https://olympics.com/en/athletes/william-thomas-ii-pecora Olympics athlete profile] and his [https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9979224433506421 Princeton University Libraries thesis record].}} was born on February 1, 1913, in [[Belleville, New Jersey]], son of Cono and Anna Pecora ({{Nee|Amabile}}). Both parents were immigrants from [[Sant'Arsenio]], in southern [[Italy]]. Pecora was the ninth of 10 children, four boys and six girls. In 1929, the year he graduated [[Barringer High School]], he was awarded a Charles Halsey Scholarship providing $1,000 annually towards education at [[Princeton University]], where he majored in [[geology]]; he was awarded a [[Bachelor of Science in Engineering]] degree in 1933.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Pecora |first=William Thomas |title=The problem of the Susquehanna Complex |date=1933 |publisher=[[Princeton University]] |oclc=281578560}}</ref> After graduation, he stayed at Princeton for two years as a geology tutor.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Anderson |first=Charles A. |date=1975 |title=William Thomas Pecora |url=https://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/pecora-william.pdf |journal=[[Biographical Memoirs]] |volume=47 |pages=370–391 |doi=10.17226/570 |isbn=978-0-309-02245-3}}</ref> In 1933, while a student at Princeton,<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Benson |first=William E. |date=March–April 1974 |title=Memorial of William Thomas Pecora |url=http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM59/AM59_420.pdf |journal=[[American Mineralogist]] |volume=59 |issue=3–4 |pages=420–423}}</ref> he won the intercollegiate [[fencing]] competition.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McKelvey |first=V. E. |date=1975 |title=Memorial to William Thomas Pecora |url=https://rock.geosociety.org/net/documents/gsa/memorials/v04/Pecora-WT.pdf |journal=Memorials |volume=4 |pages=147–153 |issn=0091-5041}}</ref> He was a member of the [[United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics|American team]] to the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in [[Berlin]], where he competed in the [[Fencing at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's foil|individual]] and [[Fencing at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's team foil|team foil]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Thomas II PECORA |url=https://olympics.com/en/athletes/william-thomas-ii-pecora |access-date=2024-03-02 |publisher=[[Olympics]]}}</ref>


In the summer of 1934, he was a field assistant to [[Erling Dorf]], working in [[Montana]] on [[Paleozoic]] [[stratigraphy]]. Pecora started graduate studies at [[Harvard University]] in 1935, concentrating on [[optical mineralogy]] and [[petrography]]. Pecora received a grant form the Holden Fund to finance fieldwork in 1937&ndash;1939 in the western fringe of the [[Bear Paw Mountains]]. His doctoral thesis was a petrologic study of the Boxelder [[laccolith]]. He received his Ph.D. from [[Harvard University]] in 1940.<ref name="thesis-phd-1940">{{cite thesis |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/301800120/ |title=Petrology and mineralogy of the western Bearpaw Mountains, Montana |date=1940 |publisher=[[Harvard University]] |type=Ph.D. |last=Pecora |first=William Thomas |via=[[ProQuest]] |url-access=subscription |oclc=41699702}}</ref>
In the summer of 1934, Pecora was a field assistant to [[Erling Dorf]], studying [[stratigraphy]] in [[Montana]] and at the [[Beartooth Butte Formation]]. Pecora started graduate studies at [[Harvard University]] in 1935, concentrating on [[optical mineralogy]] and [[petrography]] under the professor [[Esper S. Larsen, Jr.]] Larsen encouraged Pecora to look for a thesis study area in the vicinity of the [[Bearpaw Mountains]]; Pecora received a grant form the Holden Fund to finance fieldwork in 1937 and 1939 on the mountains' western fringe. His doctoral thesis was a [[Petrology|petrologic]] study of the Boxelder [[laccolith]].<ref name=":0" /> His formal work had been completed when he joined the [[U.S. Geological Survey]] (USGS) in 1939,<ref name=":1" /> and he received his [[Ph.D.]] from Harvard in 1940.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Pecora |first=William Thomas |title=Petrology and mineralogy of the western Bearpaw Mountains, Montana |date=1940 |publisher=[[Harvard University]] |oclc=41699702 |isbn=978-1-08-329156-1 |id={{ProQuest|301800120}}}}</ref>


After joining the USGS in 1939,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rabbitt |first=Mary C. |date=1989 |title=The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989 |journal=U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1050 |doi=10.3133/cir1050}}</ref>{{Rp|page=41}}  his first assignment was in 1940—[[D. Foster Hewett]], head of the metals section at the USGS, frequently visited Harvard until the outbreak of [[World War II]]. Hewett established the Strategic Minerals Program, and recruited Pecora, who was assigned to study [[Nickel|nickeliferous]] deposits in the western United States and in [[Brazil]], among other locations in North and South America. In total, Pecora and his colleagues described nine new minerals, including [[whewellite]]. The significance of this work was described in a memorial to Pecora by Charles A. Anderson:<ref name=":0" /><blockquote>Bill found that the richer deposits of nickel were the result of long weathering of [[pyroxenite]] or [[peridotite]] during a complex physiographic history and that [[serpentinite]] was not a favorable rock for the residual accumulation of nickel. [[Garnierite]] in the nickel-silicate deposit near [[Riddle, Oregon]], had three modes of occurrence, reflecting an orderly variation in color, specific gravity, and nickel content, which serve as useful guides for [[Economic geologist|economic geologists]].</blockquote>Pecora married Ethelwyn Elizabeth Carter of [[Franklin County, Kentucky]], on April 7, 1947. They had two children, William Carter Pecora, born in 1949, and Ann Stewart Pecora, born in 1953.<ref name=":0" />
Pecora was the United States intercollegiate fencing champion in 1933 and went to Germany at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in [[Berlin]] as a member of the United States Olympic fencing team, competing in the individual and team foil events.<ref name=AMObit/><ref name=NYTObit/><ref name="sports-reference">{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pe/bill-pecora-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417230923/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pe/bill-pecora-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-17 |title=William Thomas Pecora Olympic Results |accessdate=2010-06-06 |work=sports-reference.com}}</ref> He married Ethelwyn Elizabeth Carter from [[Franklin County, Kentucky]] on April 7, 1947. They had two children, William Carter Pecora born in 1949 and Ann Stewart Pecora born in 1953.


In 1949, he started a large-scale geologic mapping program of eight fifteen-minute quadrangles in the Bearpaw Mountains. The first four of these maps was published in 1957 as Miscellaneous Geologic Investigation Maps and the other four were published in bulletins starting in 1960 and ending in 1963. In 1956, Pecora published a review paper on [[carbonatite]]s which are [[carbonate]]-[[silicate]] rocks containing a variety of minerals, including impressive reserve of rare commodities such as [[titanium]], [[zirconium]], and [[uranium]]. In a 1962 paper, Pecora concentrated on the carbonatite deposits in the Bearpaw Mountains.
In 1949, he started a large-scale geologic mapping program of eight fifteen-minute [[Quadrangle (geography)|quadrangles]] in the Bearpaw Mountains. There were eight maps published between 1960 and 1963. In 1956, Pecora had published a review paper on [[Carbonatite|carbonatites]], describing their formation. In a 1962 paper, he concentrated on the carbonatite deposits in the Bearpaw Mountains.<ref name=":0" />


In 1957, Pecora was selected as Chief of the Branch of [[Geochemistry]] and Petrology within the [[United States Geological Survey]]. He established programs in [[geochronology]], experimental [[petrology]], and [[mineralogy]]. In 1961, he returned to research. He was named Chief Geologist in 1964 and a year later was appointed Director of the [[United States Geological Survey]] by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. As Director, he pressed for programs that would be responsive to emerging national problems, such as investigations of gold resources and off-shore oil and gas exploration. He established the National Center of Earthquake Research in response to problems revealed by the [[1964 Alaska earthquake]]. As Director, he advocated for the creation of a remote sensing satellite that would be used to gather information about the surface of the Earth, which became the [[Landsat program]], the longest-running project for gathering images of Earth from space.<ref>Staff. [http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3006034 "Mark Myers: Director, U.S. Geological Survey"], ''[[Federal Times]]'', September 3, 2007. Accessed January 12, 2009.</ref> Pecora was director of the USGS when the [[Astrogeology Research Program]] began in 1963.<ref>Don E. Wilhelms, 1993. ''To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration'', [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/books/rockyMoon/05Chapter4.pdf Chapter 4]</ref>
In 1957, Pecora was selected as Chief of the Branch of Geochemistry and Petrology. He established programs in [[geochronology]], experimental [[petrology]], and [[mineralogy]]. In 1961, he returned to research in his former capacity. He was named Chief Geologist in 1964 and a year later was appointed [[Director of the U.S. Geological Survey|Director of the Geological Survey]] by U.S. president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. As director, he pressed for programs that would be responsive to emerging national problems, such as investigations of [[gold]] resources and off-shore oil and gas exploration. He established the National Center of Earthquake Research in response to problems revealed by the [[1964 Alaska earthquake]]. He also advocated for the creation of a [[remote sensing satellite]] that would be used to gather information about the surface of the Earth, which became the [[Landsat program]], the longest-running project for gathering images of Earth from space.<ref>Staff. [http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3006034 "Mark Myers: Director, U.S. Geological Survey"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130123010007/http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3006034|date=2013-01-23}}, ''[[Federal Times]]'', September 3, 2007. Accessed January 12, 2009.{{Dead link|date=March 2024|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Pecora was USGS director when the [[Astrogeology Research Program]] began in 1963.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilhelms |first=Don E. |title=To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration |date=1993 |publisher=[[University of Arizona Press]] |isbn=978-0-8165-1065-8 |chapter=Preparing to Explore: 1963–1965 |chapter-url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/books/rockyMoon/05Chapter4.pdf}}</ref>


Pecora also addressed the discovery of large oil reserves of oil and gas on the north coast of [[Alaska]] in 1968. Under his Direction, the U.S. Geological Survey made a careful study of the geologic aspects of the proposed pipeline route. From 1947 to 1967 he was a member of the [[United States Civil Service Commission]]'s Board of Examiners for Geology, concerned with the development and maintenance of standards in the selection of geologists for federal employment. He was an active member of the Survey's Pick and Hammer shows, which were presented annually to make fun of top Survey managers. In 1970, Pecora expressed his opposition to burying the [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline System]], as it would be unsafe to place an underground pipeline in Arctic land He was appointed to serve as Undersecretary of the [[United States Department of Interior]] by President [[Richard Nixon]] on April 1, 1971.<ref name=NYTObit/>
Pecora also addressed the discovery of large reserves of oil and gas on the north coast of [[Alaska]] in 1968. Under his direction, the Geological Survey made a careful study of the geologic aspects of the proposed pipeline route. From 1947 to 1967 he was a member of the [[United States Civil Service Commission]]'s Board of Examiners for Geology, concerned with the development and maintenance of standards in the selection of geologists for federal employment. He was an active member of the Survey's Pick and Hammer shows, which were presented annually to make fun of top survey managers. In 1970, Pecora expressed his opposition to burying the [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline System]], as it would be unsafe to place an underground pipeline in Arctic land He was appointed to serve as Under Secretary of the Interior in the [[U.S. Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]] by president [[Richard Nixon]] on April 1, 1971.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=July 20, 1972 |orig-date=July 19 |title=Dr. William T. Pecora, 59, Dies; Under Secretary of the Interior |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/20/archives/dr-william-t-pecora-59-dies-under-secretary-o-the-interior.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |pages=36 |volume=CXXI |issue=41816 |id={{ProQuest|119576318}}}}</ref>


He died at age 59 on July 19, 1972, at [[George Washington University Hospital]] after having surgery for [[diverticulitis]] the previous month. A statement from President Nixon called him "a remarkable civil servant and an internationally respected figure in the scientific community".<ref name=NYTObit>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/20/archives/dr-william-t-pecora-59-dies-under-secretary-o-the-interior.html "Dr. William T. Pecora, 59, Dies; Under Secretary of the Interior; Department's No. 2 Man Led Geological Survey 1939&ndash;65 &mdash; Praised by Nixon"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 20, 1972. Accessed January 12, 2009.</ref>
He died at age 59 on July 19, 1972, at [[George Washington University Hospital]] after having surgery for [[diverticulitis]] the previous month. A statement from president Nixon called him "a remarkable civil servant and an internationally respected figure in the scientific community".<ref name=":2" />


The mineral [[pecoraite]] was named for him, as was the [[Pecora Escarpment]] in [[Antarctica]].<ref name=NYTObit/>
The mineral [[pecoraite]] was named for him, as was the [[Pecora Escarpment]] in Antarctica.<ref name=":2" />


==William T. Pecora Award==
==William T. Pecora Award==
The [[William T. Pecora Award]] was established in 1974 to honor Pecora, and is sponsored jointly by the [[Department of the Interior]] and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ([[NASA]]). It is presented annually to individuals or groups that make outstanding contributions toward understanding the Earth by means of [[remote sensing]].<ref>[http://remotesensing.usgs.gov/descriptionaward.php William T. Pecora Award], [[United States Geological Survey]]. Accessed January 12, 2009.</ref>
The William T. Pecora Award was established in 1974 to honor Pecora, and is sponsored jointly by the [[Department of the Interior]] and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ([[NASA]]). It is presented annually to individuals or groups that make outstanding contributions toward understanding the Earth by means of [[remote sensing]].<ref>[http://remotesensing.usgs.gov/descriptionaward.php William T. Pecora Award], [[United States Geological Survey]]. Accessed January 12, 2009.</ref>


==Awards and honors==
==Awards and honors==
* 1964 &ndash; President, [[Geological Society of Washington]]<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Yoder |first=H. S. Jr. |title=[[American National Biography]] |date=February 2000 |isbn=978-0-19-860669-7 |chapter=Pecora, William Thomas (1913-1972), geologist |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1301288}}</ref>
* 1964 &ndash; President, [[Geological Society of Washington]]
* 1965 &ndash; Fellow, [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]<ref name=NYTObit/>
* 1965 &ndash; Member, [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Thomas Pecora |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/william-thomas-pecora |access-date=2024-03-02 |publisher=[[American Academy of Arts & Sciences]] |language=en}}</ref>
* 1965 &ndash; Fellow, [[United States National Academy of Sciences]]<ref name=NYTObit/>
* 1965 &ndash; Member, [[United States National Academy of Sciences]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Pecora |url=https://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20000785.html |access-date=2024-03-02 |publisher=[[National Academy of Sciences]]}}</ref>
* 1968 &ndash; President, [[Cosmos Club]]
* 1968 &ndash; President, [[Cosmos Club]]<ref name=":3" />
* 1968 &ndash; Distinguished Service Award, [[Department of the Interior]]
* 1968 &ndash; Distinguished Service Award, [[Department of the Interior]]<ref name=":3" />
* 1969 &ndash; Doctorate of Science, [[Franklin and Marshall College]]
* 1969 &ndash; Doctorate of Science, [[Franklin and Marshall College]]{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
* 1969 &ndash; [[Rockefeller Public Service Award]]
* 1969 &ndash; [[Rockefeller Public Service Award]]<ref name=":3" />
* 1970 &ndash; Member, [[American Philosophical Society]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=William+Pecora&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>
* 1970 &ndash; Member, [[American Philosophical Society]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History: William T. Pecora |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=William+T.+Pecora&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2024-03-02 |publisher=[[American Philosophical Society]]}}</ref>
* 1970 &ndash; Doctorate of Engineering, [[Colorado School of Mines]]
* 1970 &ndash; Doctorate of Engineering, [[Colorado School of Mines]]{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
* 1972 &ndash; Public Service Award, [[American Association of Petroleum Geologists]]
* 1972 &ndash; Public Service Award, [[American Association of Petroleum Geologists]]{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
* 1973 &ndash; a 6,000 foot ridge in the [[Bear Paw Mountains]] was named [[Pecora Ridge]] in honor of Pecora.
* 1973 &ndash; a 6,000 foot ridge in the [[Bear Paw Mountains]] was named [[Pecora Ridge]] in honor of Pecora.<ref name=":3" />
* Fellow and Councilor, [[Geological Society of America]]
* Fellow and Councilor, [[Geological Society of America]]
* Fellow and Councilor, [[Mineralogical Society of America]]
* Fellow and Councilor, [[Mineralogical Society of America]]
* A [http://www.asprs.org/pecora17/ Conference] and [http://remotesensing.usgs.gov/pecora.php Award] are named in his honor.
* A [http://www.asprs.org/pecora17/ Conference] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117003532/http://www.asprs.org/pecora17/ |date=2009-01-17 }} and [http://remotesensing.usgs.gov/pecora.php Award] are named in his honor.


==Publications==
== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
* Pecora, William T. "Structure and Petrology of the Boxelder laccolith, Bearpaw Mountains, Montana" Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol.52, no.6, pp.&nbsp;817&ndash;853, Jun 1941
* Pecora, William T. and S.W. Hobbs, "Nickel-gold deposit near Mount Vernon, Skagit County, Washington" US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 931-D, pp.&nbsp;57&ndash;78 (1941)
* Pecora, William T. and S.W. Hobbs, "Nickel deposit near Riddle, Douglas County, Oregon" " [https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/b/b931I US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 931-I], pp. 205&ndash;226 (1942)
* Pecora, William Thomas "Nepheline-syenite pegmatites in the Bearpaw Mountains of Montana" American Mineralogist, vol. 24, no. 3, pp.&nbsp;191, Mar 1939
* Pecora, William Thomas and Bernard Fisher, "Cenozoic geologic history of the Bearpaw Mountains, Montana" Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol.52, no.12, Part 2, pp.&nbsp;1926&ndash;1927, Dec 1941
* Pecora, William T, "Nickel-silicate and associated nickel- cobalt-manganese-oxide deposits near Sao Jose do Tocantins, Goiaz, Brazil" US Geological Survey Bulletin, No. 0935-E, pp.&nbsp;247&ndash;305, 1944
* Brown, Roland Wilbur and William Thomas Pecora, "Paleocene and Eocene strata in the Bearpaw Mountains, Montana" Science, vol.109, no.2837, pp.&nbsp;487&ndash;489, May 1949
* Pecora, William T; Barbosa, Aluizio Licinio de M; Klepper, M R, "Mica deposits in Minas Gerais, Brazil" [https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/b/b964C US Geological Survey Bulletin, No. 0964-C], pp.&nbsp;205&ndash;305, 1950
* Bannerman, Harold MacColl; Pecora, William Thomas "Training geologists; a United States Geological Survey viewpoint" [https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/cir/cir73 US Geological Survey Circular, No. 73], 6 pp., 1950
* Lindberg, Marie Louise; Pecora, W T, "Tavorite and barbosalite; two new phosphate minerals from Minas Gerais, Brazil" Science, vol.119, no.3099, pp.&nbsp;739, 1954
* Lindberg, Marie Louise; Pecora, W T, "Avelinoite, a new hydrous sodium ferric phosphate mineral from Minas Gerais, Brazil" Science, vol.120, no.3130, pp.&nbsp;1074&ndash;1075, 1954
* Pecora, William Thomas, "Carbonatites; a review" Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol.67, no.11, pp.&nbsp;1537&ndash;1555, Nov 1956
* Pecora, William Thomas, "Coesite craters and space geology" Geotimes, vol.5, no.2, pp.&nbsp;16&ndash;19, 1960
* Schmidt, Robert George; Pecora, W T; Hearn, B C, Jr, "Geology of the Cleveland Quadrangle, Bearpaw Mountains, Blaine County, Montana" [https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/b/b1141P US Geological Survey Bulletin, No. 1141-P], pp. P1&ndash;P26, 1964
* Pecora, William T, "Surveying the Earth's resources from space" Surveying and Mapping, vol.27, no.4, pp.&nbsp;639&ndash;643, 1967
* Pecora, William T, "Geologic applications of earth orbital satellites " Contained in "Space exploration and applications; Vol. 1" from the United Nations Conference on The Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Vienna, Austria, 1968. pp.&nbsp;634&ndash;644. 1969


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

== Additional sources ==
* [http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM59/AM59_420.pdf Memorial of William Thomas Pecora February 1, 1913&ndash;July 19, 1972]
* Biographical Memoirs by [[US National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)]] pp.&nbsp;371&ndash;392 [https://books.google.com/books?id=6SMK34i-xu0C&dq=william+thomas+pecora&pg=PA389 accessed in Google Books, January 9, 2009]


==External links==
==External links==

Latest revision as of 00:33, 19 March 2024

William Thomas Pecora
8th Director of the U.S. Geological Survey
In office
1965 (1965)–1971 (1971)
Preceded byThomas Brennan Nolan
Succeeded byVincent Ellis McKelvey
Under Secretary of the Interior
In office
1971 (1971)–1972 (1972)
Preceded byFred J. Russell
Succeeded byJohn C. Whitaker
Personal details
Born(1913-02-01)February 1, 1913
Belleville, New Jersey, USA
DiedJuly 19, 1972(1972-07-19) (aged 59)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma mater
Scientific career
Fields
InstitutionsU.S. Geological Survey
ThesisPetrology and mineralogy of the western Bearpaw Mountains, Montana (1940)
[1]

William Thomas Pecora II (February 1, 1913 – July 19, 1972) was an American geologist who served as 8th Director of the U.S. Geological Survey and later as Under Secretary of the Interior. Pecora had a successful career in both scientific and athletic spheres—he completed in fencing at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and during his lifetime was elected to both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. He was an early figure in what is now the Landsat program, and the William T. Pecora Award for remote sensing is named after him.

Life and career[edit]

William Thomas Pecora II[a] was born on February 1, 1913, in Belleville, New Jersey, son of Cono and Anna Pecora (née Amabile). Both parents were immigrants from Sant'Arsenio, in southern Italy. Pecora was the ninth of 10 children, four boys and six girls. In 1929, the year he graduated Barringer High School, he was awarded a Charles Halsey Scholarship providing $1,000 annually towards education at Princeton University, where he majored in geology; he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree in 1933.[2] After graduation, he stayed at Princeton for two years as a geology tutor.[3] In 1933, while a student at Princeton,[4] he won the intercollegiate fencing competition.[5] He was a member of the American team to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he competed in the individual and team foil.[6]

In the summer of 1934, Pecora was a field assistant to Erling Dorf, studying stratigraphy in Montana and at the Beartooth Butte Formation. Pecora started graduate studies at Harvard University in 1935, concentrating on optical mineralogy and petrography under the professor Esper S. Larsen, Jr. Larsen encouraged Pecora to look for a thesis study area in the vicinity of the Bearpaw Mountains; Pecora received a grant form the Holden Fund to finance fieldwork in 1937 and 1939 on the mountains' western fringe. His doctoral thesis was a petrologic study of the Boxelder laccolith.[3] His formal work had been completed when he joined the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1939,[4] and he received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1940.[7]

After joining the USGS in 1939,[8]: 41   his first assignment was in 1940—D. Foster Hewett, head of the metals section at the USGS, frequently visited Harvard until the outbreak of World War II. Hewett established the Strategic Minerals Program, and recruited Pecora, who was assigned to study nickeliferous deposits in the western United States and in Brazil, among other locations in North and South America. In total, Pecora and his colleagues described nine new minerals, including whewellite. The significance of this work was described in a memorial to Pecora by Charles A. Anderson:[3]

Bill found that the richer deposits of nickel were the result of long weathering of pyroxenite or peridotite during a complex physiographic history and that serpentinite was not a favorable rock for the residual accumulation of nickel. Garnierite in the nickel-silicate deposit near Riddle, Oregon, had three modes of occurrence, reflecting an orderly variation in color, specific gravity, and nickel content, which serve as useful guides for economic geologists.

Pecora married Ethelwyn Elizabeth Carter of Franklin County, Kentucky, on April 7, 1947. They had two children, William Carter Pecora, born in 1949, and Ann Stewart Pecora, born in 1953.[3]

In 1949, he started a large-scale geologic mapping program of eight fifteen-minute quadrangles in the Bearpaw Mountains. There were eight maps published between 1960 and 1963. In 1956, Pecora had published a review paper on carbonatites, describing their formation. In a 1962 paper, he concentrated on the carbonatite deposits in the Bearpaw Mountains.[3]

In 1957, Pecora was selected as Chief of the Branch of Geochemistry and Petrology. He established programs in geochronology, experimental petrology, and mineralogy. In 1961, he returned to research in his former capacity. He was named Chief Geologist in 1964 and a year later was appointed Director of the Geological Survey by U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson. As director, he pressed for programs that would be responsive to emerging national problems, such as investigations of gold resources and off-shore oil and gas exploration. He established the National Center of Earthquake Research in response to problems revealed by the 1964 Alaska earthquake. He also advocated for the creation of a remote sensing satellite that would be used to gather information about the surface of the Earth, which became the Landsat program, the longest-running project for gathering images of Earth from space.[9] Pecora was USGS director when the Astrogeology Research Program began in 1963.[10]

Pecora also addressed the discovery of large reserves of oil and gas on the north coast of Alaska in 1968. Under his direction, the Geological Survey made a careful study of the geologic aspects of the proposed pipeline route. From 1947 to 1967 he was a member of the United States Civil Service Commission's Board of Examiners for Geology, concerned with the development and maintenance of standards in the selection of geologists for federal employment. He was an active member of the Survey's Pick and Hammer shows, which were presented annually to make fun of top survey managers. In 1970, Pecora expressed his opposition to burying the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, as it would be unsafe to place an underground pipeline in Arctic land He was appointed to serve as Under Secretary of the Interior in the Department of the Interior by president Richard Nixon on April 1, 1971.[11]

He died at age 59 on July 19, 1972, at George Washington University Hospital after having surgery for diverticulitis the previous month. A statement from president Nixon called him "a remarkable civil servant and an internationally respected figure in the scientific community".[11]

The mineral pecoraite was named for him, as was the Pecora Escarpment in Antarctica.[11]

William T. Pecora Award[edit]

The William T. Pecora Award was established in 1974 to honor Pecora, and is sponsored jointly by the Department of the Interior and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is presented annually to individuals or groups that make outstanding contributions toward understanding the Earth by means of remote sensing.[12]

Awards and honors[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This generational suffix is listed on his Olympics athlete profile and his Princeton University Libraries thesis record.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Tolson, Hiliary A. (2016-04-25) [1964]. "Under/Deputy Secretaries of the Interior". Historic Listings of NPS Officials. NPSHistory.com.
  2. ^ Pecora, William Thomas (1933). The problem of the Susquehanna Complex (Thesis). Princeton University. OCLC 281578560.
  3. ^ a b c d e Anderson, Charles A. (1975). "William Thomas Pecora" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs. 47: 370–391. doi:10.17226/570. ISBN 978-0-309-02245-3.
  4. ^ a b Benson, William E. (March–April 1974). "Memorial of William Thomas Pecora" (PDF). American Mineralogist. 59 (3–4): 420–423.
  5. ^ McKelvey, V. E. (1975). "Memorial to William Thomas Pecora" (PDF). Memorials. 4: 147–153. ISSN 0091-5041.
  6. ^ "William Thomas II PECORA". Olympics. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  7. ^ Pecora, William Thomas (1940). Petrology and mineralogy of the western Bearpaw Mountains, Montana (Thesis). Harvard University. ISBN 978-1-08-329156-1. OCLC 41699702. ProQuest 301800120.
  8. ^ Rabbitt, Mary C. (1989). "The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989". U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1050. doi:10.3133/cir1050.
  9. ^ Staff. "Mark Myers: Director, U.S. Geological Survey" Archived 2013-01-23 at archive.today, Federal Times, September 3, 2007. Accessed January 12, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Wilhelms, Don E. (1993). "Preparing to Explore: 1963–1965" (PDF). To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1065-8.
  11. ^ a b c "Dr. William T. Pecora, 59, Dies; Under Secretary of the Interior". The New York Times. Vol. CXXI, no. 41816. July 20, 1972 [July 19]. p. 36. ProQuest 119576318.
  12. ^ William T. Pecora Award, United States Geological Survey. Accessed January 12, 2009.
  13. ^ a b c d e Yoder, H. S. Jr. (February 2000). "Pecora, William Thomas (1913-1972), geologist". American National Biography. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1301288. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7.
  14. ^ "William Thomas Pecora". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  15. ^ "William Pecora". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  16. ^ "APS Member History: William T. Pecora". American Philosophical Society. Retrieved 2024-03-02.

External links[edit]


Government offices
Preceded by Director of the United States Geological Survey
1965–1971 		Succeeded by
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