Time Line

EARLY HISTORY

1853

William Greenleaf Eliot and a group of prominent St. Louis citizens found an institute of higher education in 1853. The institute is initially named Eliot Seminary, renamed Washington Institute in 1854 and Washington University in 1856.

1880

Professor Gustav Hambach, a well known paleontologist, takes a position as instructor of geology.

1887

Gustav Hambach is appointed "Head" of the Geology Department, a position he holds until 1906.

1890's

Robert Sommers Brookings, president of the University's Board of Trustees, succeeds in improving the financial state of the University.

1904

The first geology class appears in the university catalogue. It is taught by Gustav Hambach.

1906

Professor Walter McCourt joins the faculty. He will later become Dean and ultimately Assistant Chancellor of the University.

1924

A new building for our department is completed. Wilson Hall, although not the home of the department today, exhibits a large number of architectural details specific to the geologic sciences such as "grotesques" of dinosaurs sculpted in Mississippian age limestone.

1927

Professor Carl Tolman arrives. He is later to become department Chair, Dean of the Graduate School and the eleventh Chancellor of Washington University.

1945

Carl Tolman becomes Chair of the Department.

1955

Professor Norman S. Hinchey is appointed Chair, a post he will hold until 1963.

1961

The Department changes its name from the Department of Geology to Department of Earth Sciences to better reflect contemporary activities and planned development.

1963

Professor William D. Johns, a well known clay mineralogist, is appointed as Chair.

1964

Professor Carl Tolman becomes the eleventh Chancellor of Washington University.

The Planning Council for the Physical Sciences suggests an expansion of our space in Wilson Hall. At that time planning into the 1970's was underway with a goal to provide a detailed outline of future additional facilities. This resulted in the construction of a new building, McDonnell Hall, for the Department, only 30 years later.

1966

Professor Robert M. Walker comes to the Physics Department. It will become clear in a short while, why this is important to our Department.

1967-69

Professor H. LeRoy Scharon (1915-2004) spends the winter of 1968 in the Antarctic with the 13th Soviet Union Antarctic Expedition researching locations on the west coast of Enderby Land.

1969

Professor James C. Brice takes over as Chair of the Department from Dr. William D. Johns. He remains Chair until 1973.

1973

Professor Harold L. Levin becomes Chair. "Doc" Levin continues to be a valued member of our community to this day.

A NEW BEGINNING

1975

A grant from James McDonnell and additional contributions from the Danforth Foundation provide for the establishment of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences. The combined efforts of James S. McDonnell, Chair of the Board of Trustees, William Danforth, Chancellor, and Robert Walker, McDonnell Professor of Physics, lead to a long-term plan and commitment to build a modern Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and to focus on the study of the Earth, other planets, and moons within the solar system. Planetary sciences become a primary emphasis of the Department. This is reflected in the name change from the Department of Earth Sciences to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

1976

Professor Larry Haskin becomes department Chair, a post he holds until 1990. Larry Haskin presides over the rebuilding of our Department into an internationally well known research institution in the earth and space sciences.

1991

Professor Raymond E. Arvidson becomes Chair, serving until 2008. Ray Arvidson continues building the planetary science component of the Department. He also directs the Earth and Planetary Remote Sensing Laboratory, participates in NASA missions to Mars, and manages the Geosciences Node of NASA's Planetary Data System.

A new building, attached to Wilson Hall, is constructed. This building is named McDonnell Hall. Our department expands into the new building sharing it with Biology.

2004

In the summer of 2004 we move into a newly constructed building tailored to meet the needs of our department in the 21st century.

2008

Professor Douglas A. Wiens takes over the duties of Chair and continues to conduct seismic experiments in Antarctica and the Pacific.

2012

On May 4, 2012, our building is dedicated with a new name, Scott Rudolph Hall. Scott Rudolph is a University donor and internationally known mineral collector.

Professor Jennifer Smith becomes Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

2013

Professor Viatcheslav S. Solomatov becomes Chair and continues to manage his computational geodynamics laboratory.

2023

We changed the name of the department to: "Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences"

Professor David Fike becomes Chair of the newly renamed department, while retaining his leadership of the enviromental studies program.