SCIENCE IN THE HINTERLAND: “THE CINCINNATI SCHOOL OF PALEONTOLOGY”

In and about Nineteenth-Century Cincinnati, beginning even before the Ordovician System was named, there was a group of avid fossil-enthusiasts who have been called the “Cincinnati School of Paleontology”. Although all of these men began as “publishing amateurs”, some went on to become amongst the best-known professional geologists of their day; examples include Ray S. Bassler, John M. Nickles, Charles Schuchert, and E. O. Ulrich. To the majority of the “Cincinnati School”, however, paleontology never became a profession, but, rather, remained an avocation; examples include D. T. D. Dyche, C. B. Dyer, Charles Faber, George W. Harper, Joseph F. James, U. P. James, John Mickleborough, S. A. Miller, and A. G. Wetherby. To call this latter group “amateurs” is, at once, true, and unfair. Yes, they did not make their livings as paleontologists, but their published paleontologic works have held up as well as much of what was produced by the “professionals” of the day. Moreover, most, if not all, of the “Cincinnati School” contributed to the science in other ways. For example, some of them literally published paleontological books and, even, journals. Many served as guides to visiting “professionals”, corresponded with them, and provided specimens for study. Many amassed important fossil-collections that eventually made their way into bona fide museums and, thereby, remain scientifically important to this day. In short, the activities of the “Cincinnati School of Paleontology” were highly significant toward the recognition of the Cincinnati, Ohio, region as what has been called “the American Upper Ordovician standard”.