Memorial to Percival Robertson1889-1980

FREDERICK C. MARSHALL Principia College, Elsah, Illinois 62028

W hat is the thought behind what we see? That ques­tion represented the theme of Percival Robertson’s (Dr. Robby, as he was affectionately known) inspiring teaching career. It also represented the manner in which he approached the education of all those with whom he came into contact until his death on July 14, 1980. His formal teaching spanned more than fifty- five years, and during this time he taught not only geology, but also chemistry and mathematics. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, July 12, 1889. His formal education included graduation from the Lewis Institute of Chicago in 1909; a Ph.B. degree from Yale in 1915; M.S. degree from Washington Univer­sity, St. Louis, in mathematics and chemistry in 1924;and Ph.D. from W ashington University in geologyin 1936.

His interest in geology and much of what he learned about teaching was the result o f the contact he had with the likes o f Schuchert, Pirsson, Barrell, and Lull. However, he had to defer the teaching of his favorite subject for quite a few years. As a result of a financial misfortune that affected his family, he had to leave Yale in the midst of his senior year and find a job. So, for the next couple of years, he taught math and natural sciences in public and private high schools in New York and New England. This was a valuable experience, for it taught him much about the practical aspects of the teaching profession, such as setting up laboratories, acquiring equipment, and choosing textbooks. The years 1914 and 1915 were busy ones for him. It was during this time that he married Gladys M. Smith, returned to Yale to complete his degree,witnessed the birth of the first of his two sons, and began his formal college teachingcareer at Principia College, which at that time had a two-year college program at St. Louis.

Principia’s need at that time was for someone to teach just mathematics and chem­istry, which is what he did until 1921. At that time, and again in 1923, he offered a course in astronomy, which drew a large enrollment for classes of that day at Principia. During this time, he thought much about offering a course in geology. With the advice and help of Professor Schlund at the University o f Missouri and the support from the administration at Principia, the first geology course was taught in 1924. Although he was perhaps not aware of it at the time, Dr. Robby had started creating the geology department. He had already contributed a great deal to setting up a chemistry depart­ment. Now, his efforts were in large measure devoted to putting together teaching col­lections of rocks and fossils, field trips, laboratory exercises, equipment, storage cabi­nets, and other “ necessaries” for a program. This took place over a number of years. However, by the time he retired from Principia in 1956, he had built up one of the finest departments in the country for a school o f that size.

2 THE GEO LO G ICA L SOCIETY OE AM ERICA

In 1930, he relinquished his duties in the area o f mathematics and continued with chemistry and geology. This continued beyond the time that Principia established a four-year college program at Elsah, Illinois, which occurred in the mid-1930s. In 1951, he was able to turn his chemistry responsibilities over to someone else and to devote full time to geology. In 1956, having spent forty years in service to Principia, he retired and was named Professor Emeritus. However, he remained active in teaching until 1970. During this last fourteen-year interval, he taught at Duke University, Florida State University, Three Rivers High School in Michigan, St. Petersburg Junior College in Florida, and Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

Dr. Robby was active in a number of professional societies: the American Chemi­cal Society, the Missouri State Academy of Science (charter member), the Illinois State Academy of Science (president in 1950-1951), American Association for the Advance­ment of Science, and Geological Society of America. However, the society he was closest to was also one which he helped to found—the National Association of Geology Teachers. He served as its president from 1942 to 1945. In 1961 at the national meeting of the Geological Society of America, he received the National Association o f Geology Teachers’ Neil A. Miner Award given “ for exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the earth sciences” (quoted from the plaque). In 1953, he was president of the Association of the Academies of Science. In 1954, he was appointed to the Board o f Advisors o f the Illinois State Museum.

In the midst of his teaching and active participation in professional societies, he found time to pursue his research interests. In the 1930s, his interests centered around the Pleistocene history of the St. Louis area. Later, in the 1940s and 1050s, he, along with a number of his students, pursued the origin of the geodes which were present in the local streams which washed over the Warsaw Formation. A number of publications resulted from his research in both these areas. In addition, he spent four summers, 1944 to 1947, working for the Missouri State Geological Survey and Water Resources.

Although Dr. Robby’s life had many personal and professional facets, it is his ability as a teacher that stands out to me. He always felt that whatever was taught at a liberal arts college should have value that transcended the subject matter, and he always found a way of bringing out those values. He always encouraged his students to think carefully about what they were learning. He especially challenged students to distinguish phenomena (scientific facts) from theories (explanations). This seems closely related to his general theme, stated at the outset o f this memorial. In order to determine “ the thought behind what we see,” he wanted his students always to distinguish the “ what” from the “ thought.” He felt that many texts considered them both as hard facts, so it required careful analysis in reading and it was good for intellectual growth. He is gone, physically, but the spirit o f what he taught will always be expressed by those who were fortunate enough to have their lives touched by his.

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the help o f the archivists o f Principia College, especially Mrs. A bbie Martin, fo r providing much o f the biographical material. In addition, the publications office o f Principia provided a photograph. Finally, I am grateful to Dr. R obby him self fo r leaving with me a manuscript outlining the history o f the Geology Department o f Principia College in which much biographical information was con­tained, as well as statements o f his views on education.

M EM O RIAL TO PER CIV A L R O B ERTSO N 3

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PERCIVAL ROBERTSON

1934 An occurrence o f gypsum rosettes in a cave in Jefferson County, Missouri [abs.]: Proceedings of the Missouri Academy of Science, v. 1, p. 123.

1937 Drift exposures in St. Louis and St. Louis County [abs.]: Proceedings of the Missouri Academy o f Science, v. 3, p. 128.

------ The loess in the vicinity o f St. Louis [abs.]: Proceedings of the Missouri Academyof Science, v. 3, p. 129.

1938 Some problems o f the Middle Mississippi River region during Pleistocene time: Transactions of the Academy of Science o f St. Louis, v. 29, p. 166-240.

1939 (and De Windt, Edward A.) An unusual mineral in north St. Louis County [abs.]: Proceedings of the Missouri Academy of Science, v. 4, p. 160-161.

1940 (and Brooks, Marshall) Additional notes on the geodes o f the Warsaw Formation: Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, v. 33, p. 168-171.

------ Some Pleistocene terraces of the Mississippi River [abs.]: Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin, v. 51, p. 2041.

1941 (and Robertson, Forbes) Implications of a cobble of bauxite found in the “ Lafayette” gravel o f St. Louis County [abs.]: Proceedings of the Missouri Academy of Science, v. 6, p. 80-81.

1942 Bituminous matter in Warsaw geodes [abs.]: Transactions o f the Ilinois State Academy of Science, v. 35, no. 2, p. 138-140.

------ Color photography as an aid to the teaching o f elementary geology [abs.]:Proceedings of the Missouri Academy of Science, v. 7, p. 107.

1944 Silica gel and Warsaw geodes [abs.]: Transactions o f the Illinois Academy of Science, v. 37, p. 93-94.

------ Some evidence regarding geode formation [abs.]: Geological Society of AmericaBulletin, v. 55, p. 1480.

1946 Pleistocene sediments of the St. Louis area [ abs.]: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 57, p. 1274.

1951 Beating the red queen, or ?Quam celeriter vadimus? (presidential address): Transactions of the Illinois Academy of Science, v. 44, p. 9-16.

------ Geode note: Science, v. 114, no. 2956, p. 215.------ Manual for Physical Geology: Burgess Publishing Company.1953 Manual for Historical Geology: Burgess Publishing Company.

Prin ted in U.S.A. 11/81