William J. Breed
{{Short description|American geologist (1928–2013)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = William J. Breed
| image = BreedImage2003.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|8|3|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Massillon, Ohio
| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|1|22|1928|8|03|df=y}}
| death_place = Flagstaff, Arizona
| residence =
| citizenship =
| nationality =
| ethnicity =
| field = Geomorphology
Geology
Vertebrate Paleontology
| work_institution = U.S. Geological Survey
Museum of Northern Arizona
Nature Expeditions International
| alma_mater = Massillon Washington High School
Denison University
University of Arizona
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = Grand Canyon
Northern Arizona
Dilophosaurus
Lystrosaurus
| author_abbreviation_bot =
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| prizes = Fulbright Scholarship (1957–58)
National Science Foundation – Antarctic Service Medal (1977)
Gladys Cole Award – Geological Society of America(1982)
| religion =
| footnotes =
}}
William J. "Bill" Breed (August 3, 1928 – January 22, 2013) was an American geologist, paleontologist, naturalist and author in Northern Arizona. He was a renowned expert on the geology of the Grand Canyon.{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/azdailysun/today|title=Today's Arizona Daily Sun Obituaries|website=Legacy.com|access-date=2024-04-01|archive-date=2023-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126152516/https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/azdailysun/today|url-status=live}}
Personal life
William J. Breed was born August 3, 1928, in Massillon, Ohio, son of Grace Amelia (née Snyder) and Earl Fremont Breed. After graduating from Massillon Washington High School, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Military Police in South Korea and Japan (1946–48). He received his B.A. from Denison University, then his B.S. and M.S. from University of Arizona, finishing in 1960. He married Carol S. Breed daughter of James Neilson (director) and Mrs. Ruth Swope (née Rogers) in 1965. The couple had one daughter, Amelia, who joined the family of four girls (Linda, Laura, Grace, Pamela) from Carol's first marriage.Arizona Daily Sun, Dec. 18, 1965
Upon his death in 2013 he was buried at the Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery.{{cn|date=May 2024}}
Career
Bill Breed was a Fulbright Scholar at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand to study geomorphology in 1957–58.Canton Repository, March 12, 1957
Bill Breed was a protégé of Edwin D. McKee. Breed was Curator of Geology (1960–78), Head, Geology Department (1978–81) at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona. In 1969, Breed and Edwin H. Colbert were two of the four vertebrate paleontologists in Antarctica who helped solidify the acceptance of continental drift theory, by finding a 220-million-year-old fossil of a Lystrosaurus. In the 1970s, Breed completed numerous publications on the Grand Canyon, including a geologic cross section map of the Grand Canyon, San Francisco Peaks and Verde Valley; and the book, Geology of the Grand Canyon.[http://azdailysun.com/news/local/obituaries/william-breed-renowned-mna-geologist-dies-in-flagstaff/article_41857e06-1387-53d0-bf6f-f3c469222f65.html Arizona Daily Sun, January 24, 2013, A2] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130628172512/http://azdailysun.com/news/local/obituaries/william-breed-renowned-mna-geologist-dies-in-flagstaff/article_41857e06-1387-53d0-bf6f-f3c469222f65.html |date=June 28, 2013 }};
A species of Dilophosaurus, (D. breedorum), discovered by Sam Welles in Arizona in 1964 was named after William J. Breed and his wife at the time Carol S. Breed.Welles, S. P. (1984). "Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda), osteology and comparisons". Palaeontogr. Abt. A 185: 85–180. This name came out in a private publication distributed by Pickering,Olshevsky, George (1999-12-05). "Dinosaur Genera List corrections #126". Dinosaur Mailing List Archives. Cleveland Museum of Natural History. but has not been accepted in other reviews of the genus.Gay, Robert (2001). "New specimens of Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of northern Arizona". Western Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists annual meeting volume Mesa, Arizona 1: 1.Tykoski, R. S. & Rowe, T. (2004). "Ceratosauria". In: Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., & Osmolska, H. (Eds.) The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 47–70 {{ISBN|0-520-24209-2}}Dilophosaurus
After leaving the Museum of Northern Arizona in 1981, Breed became a naturalist guide for Nature Expeditions International and Betchart Expeditions leading trips to Alaska, New Zealand, Galapagos, Namibia, and Australia. He became Curator Emeritus of the Museum of Northern Arizona in 2004. In January 2013, shortly before his death, Breed was named a Distinguished Fellow of the Museum of Northern Arizona.
Breed was an active environmentalist with Ted Danson[http://newsweek.com/2011/03/20/my-favorite-mistake.html "My Favorite Mistake"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508081625/http://newsweek.com/2011/03/20/my-favorite-mistake.html |date=2014-05-08 }} Newsweek and many others.
Awards
Fellow of the Geological Society of America, the A.A.A.S, the Arizona Academy of Science, and the Museum of Northern Arizona.Museum of Northern Arizona Archive
National Science Foundation – Antarctic Service Medal (1977)
Geological Society of America – Gladys Cole Award (1982)
Distinguished Citizen Award from Massillon Washington High School in 2005.
Publications
Breed wrote or contributed to more than 80 scientific publications and popular magazines.
- 1964: "Metacoceras bowmani, a new species of Nautiloid from the Toroweap Formation (Permian) of Arizona," Journal of Paleontology; v. 38, No. 5, pp. 877–880 (with Halsey W. Miller Jr)
- 1965: "An exotic occurrence of fresh water drum fish," Plateau v. 37, No. 3, p. 5.
- 1967: "Evolution of the Colorado River in Arizona" 'Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin' #44, pp. 67 (with Edwin D. McKee, R.F. Wilson, and Carol S. Breed.)
- 1969: "A Pliocene river channel near Doney Crater, Arizona" Journal of Arizona Academy of Sciences, vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 177–181.
- 1969: "The Chuar Group of the Grand Canyon, Arizona." Geological Society of America Rocky Mountain Section, Abstracts with Programs, May 7–11, 1969, pp. 23–24. (with Trevor D. Ford)
- 1970: "Hopi Pahos at the South Pole" Plateau V. 42, No. 4, pp. 125
- 1970: "Triassic Tetrapods from Antarctica: Evidence of Continental Drift" Science V. 169, No. 3951, pp. 1197–1201 (with David H Elliot, Edwin H. Colbert, James Jensen and Jon S. Powell)
- 1971: "Last Chance for Rainbow Bridge?" Outdoor Arizona, pp. 38–41
- 1974: Geology of the Grand Canyon, by William J. Breed and Evelyn C. Roat
- 1974: "Red Mountain, Erosion or Explosion," Plateau, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 120–122.
- 1975: Geologic Cross Section of the Grand Canyon – San Francisco Peaks – Verde Valley Region Zion Natural History Association, Springdale, Utah
- 1976: "Our "Unchanging" Grand Canyon", Arizona Highways, Vol. 52, No. 5, pp. 12–15.
- 1977: "Chitinozoans from the Late Precambrian Chuar Group of the Grand Canyon, Arizona" Science, Vol. 195, No. 4279, pp. 676–679 (with Bonnie Bloeser, Wiliam J. Schopf and Robert J. Horodyski)
References
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External links and references
- Arizona Daily Sun, January 24, 2013, A2 [http://azdailysun.com/news/local/obituaries/william-breed-renowned-mna-geologist-dies-in-flagstaff/article_41857e06-1387-53d0-bf6f-f3c469222f65.html Today's Arizona Daily Sun Obituaries]
- Newsweek: [http://newsweek.com/2011/03/20/my-favorite-mistake.html My Favorite Mistake]
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Category:Denison University alumni
Category:American paleontologists
Category:University of Arizona alumni
Category:People from Massillon, Ohio
Category:Writers from Tucson, Arizona
Category:People from Flagstaff, Arizona
Category:Fellows of the Geological Society of America