Harry Gisborne Explained

Harry Thomas Gisborne
Birth Date:11 September 1893
Birth Place:Montpelier, Vermont
Death Place:Mann Gulch, Montana
Nationality:American
Workplaces:United States Forest Service
Alma Mater:University of Michigan
Known For:Wildfire research

Harry Thomas Gisborne (September 11, 1893 – November 9, 1949) was an American forester who pioneered the scientific study of wildfires.

Biography

Harry Gisborne was born in Montpelier, Vermont. After graduating with a forestry degree from the University of Michigan, he joined the U.S. Forest Service, and after four years was assigned to head the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Montana.[1] Many of his studies were conducted at the Priest River Experimental Forest, just outside Priest River, Idaho. During his tenure there, he developed new instruments and methods to study the start and spread of wildfires. He was the first recipient from his area to receive the USDA Superior Service Award.[1]

Gisborne died of a heart attack on November 9, 1949, while field-checking the site of the Mann Gulch Fire in August 1949. Norman Maclean called this the "death of a scientist" in his book Young Men and Fire.

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External links

Notes and References

  1. http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv13341 Guide to the Harry Thomas Gisborne Papers at the University of Montana