George Frederick Kunz
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| George Frederick Kunz | |
| Born | 29 September 1856 New York, New York, USA |
|---|---|
| Died | 29 June 1932 (aged 75) |
| Nationality | United States |
| Other names | George Kuntz |
| Education | Cooper Union |
| Employer | Tiffany & Co. and U.S. Geological Survey |
George Frederick Kunz (September 29, 1856 – June 29, 1932) was an American mineralogist.
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[edit] Overview
Kunz was born in New York City, USA, and began an interest in minerals at a very young age. By his teens, he had amassed a collection of over four thousand items, which he sold for four hundred dollars to the University of Minnesota. Kunz attended Cooper Union but did not finish and did not attend college. Nonetheless, he taught himself mineralogy from books and field research. This expertise landed him a job with Tiffany & Co., and his knowledge and enthusiasm propelled him into a vice presidency by the time he was 23.
He gained much notoriety for identifying a new variety of the mineral spodumene which was named "Kunzite" in his honor.
He headed up the US mining and mineralogical exhibits at the international expositions in Paris (1889), Chicago (1893), Atlanta (1895), Paris (1900), and St. Louis (1904). As a gentleman scientist, he was a member of the Mineralogical Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, New York Academy of Sciences (of which he was once a vice president), the New York Mineralogical Club, the American Scenic and Preservation Society (for which he served as president), the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers (of which he was once a vice president), and many other cultural, scientific, and naturalist organizations. He was the founder and president of the Museums of the Peaceful Arts in 1913, special agent for the US Geological Survey (1883-1909), a research curator at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, and the leading advocate in the establishment of the international carat as a unit of measure for precious gems. He also assembled the Morgan-Tiffany collection of gems in the American Museum of Natural History. Kunz had an active life dedicated to science and public service.
[edit] Awards
He was given many honorary degrees from US and European universities. He wrote over 300 articles during his life.
Kunz married Sophia Hanforth in 1879, who died in 1912. In 1923, Kunz married Opal Logan Giberson but soon annulled the marriage. Nonetheless, Opal continued to maintain Kunz's household until his death, on June 29, 1932.
[edit] References
- Kunz, George Frederick (1883). "Precious Stones". Mineral Resources of the United States 1882: 483–499.
- Kunz, George Frederick (1886). "Rare gems and interesting minerals". Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences: 131–133.
- Diller, Joseph Silas anf Kunz, G.F. (1887). "Is there a diamond field in Kentucky?". Science ns-10: 140–142. doi:.
- Kunz, George Frederick (1888). "Diamonds in Meteorites". Science ns-11: 118–119. doi:.
- Kunz, George Frederick (1891). "Exhibition of Gems Used as Amulets, etc.". The American Journal of Folklore 4 (Jan-Mar. 1891): 29–31. doi:.
- Kunz, George Frederick. “The genesis of the diamond” Science, pp.450-456, 1897
- Baskerville, Charles; Kunz, G F. “Kunzite and its unique properties” American Journal of Science, vol.18, no.103, pp.25-28, Jul 1904
- Kunz, George Frederick. “The cause of the San Francisco earthquake” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, pp.289-290, 1908
- Kunz, George Frederick. “Diamonds in North America” Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol.42, no.1, pp.221-222, Mar 1931
- Kerr, Paul Francis. “Memorial of George Frederick Kunz [1856-1932]” American Mineralogist, vol. 18, no. 3, pp.91-94, Mar 1933
- Whitlock, Herbert Percy. “Memorial of George Frederick Kunz [1856-1932]” Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol.44, Part 2, pp.377-394, Apr 1933
- Spencer, Leonard James. “George Frederick Kunz [1856-1932]” Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, Aug 1933
NOTE: Mr. Kunz personal library was acquired by the U.S. Geologival Survey Library in 1933. The George F. Kunz Collection is a significant special collection on gems and minerals including rare books on gemology, the folklore of gemstones through history, lapidary arts and archival gem trade records important to the provenance of named stones such as the "Hope Diamond." Kunz was a former USGS employee. The collection is held in Reston, Virginia and is available to researchers by appointment.
[edit] External links
- The book of the pearl (1908) available online and in pdf downloads from the Gem and Diamond Foundation. Also available at the Internet Archive
- The Curious Lore of Prescious Stones (1938) at Internet Archive
- Flok-lore of Precious Stones (1894) at Internet Archive
- Gems and precious stones of North America. Overview of all locations of famous gemstones such as emeralds, sapphire, rubies to rare ones such as hiddenite(1890) available online and in pdf downloads from the Gem and Diamond Foundation. Also available at the Internet Archive
- History of Gems Found in North Carolina (1907) at Internet Archive
- Ivory and the Elephant in Art, in Archaeology, and in Science (1916) at Internet Archive
- The Magic of Jewels and Charms (1915) at Internet Archive
- Rings for the Finger, from the Earlieast Known Times to the Present... (1917) at Internet Archive
- Shakespeare and Precious Stones at Project Gutenberg also available at the Internet Archive
- Google books listing of Kunz works in the public domain: [1]
- Revised bibliography of George Fredrick Kunz's works at the Gemological Institute of America: [2]
- NOTE: Kunz worked with Mathilde Laigle to write the Book of Pearl (part : "Années de professorat aux États-Unis")
