Silliman, Benjamin

Benjamin (1779-1864), an American scientist. He was born at North Stratford, Connecticut. He was graduated at Yale in 1796. He prepared for the bar and was admitted, but in 1802 he accepted the chair of chemistry and natural history in Yale. He went abroad in 1805 and studied at Edinburgh, taking a special interest in geology. On his return he undertook a geological survey of Connecticut. He was for fifty years one of the foremost scientists of the United States. He founded the American Journal of Science in 1818, and was named by Congress as one of the charter members of the National Geological Society. He was a man of force, an instructor of ability. He presented the best courses in chemistry and geology offered at that time in America. A son of the same name followed in his father's footsteps and succeeded him in the chair of chemistry at Yale. See Hitchcock