Davis , William Morris

Davis , William Morris
(1850–1934) American physical geographer
Davis, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was educated at Harvard. He returned to teach there in 1877 after a period as a meteorologist in Argentina and as an assistant with the North Pacific Survey. He became professor of physical geography in 1890 and of geology in 1898.
Davis is acknowledged as the founder of geomorphology, the study of landforms. In his The Rivers and Valleys of Pennsylvania (1889) he first introduced what later became known as the Davisian systems of landscape analysis. His aim was to provide an explanatory description of how landforms change in an ideal situation and his most important contribution to this was his introduction of the ‘cycle of erosion’ into geographical thought.
He proposed a complete cycle of youth, maturity, and old age to describe the evolution of a landscape. In youth rivers occupy steep V-shaped valleys while in old age the valleys are broad. The end product would be a flat featureless plain he called a ‘peneplain’. This was an ideal cycle but in practice the cycle would invariably be interrupted by Earth movements. It was, nevertheless, strongly attacked by German geographers who objected to it on the grounds that it neglected such vital factors as weathering and climate in transforming the landscape. They also believed him to be undermining their argument that landforms could only be discovered by local fieldwork and the production of regional monographs.
Davis also produced an influential work, Elementary Meteorology (1894), which was used as a textbook for over 30 years, and, in 1928, published The Coral Reef Problem.

Scientists. . 2011.

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  • Davis, William Morris — ▪ American geographer born Feb. 12, 1850, Philadelphia died Feb. 5, 1934, Pasadena, Calif., U.S.       U.S. geographer, geologist, and meteorologist who founded the science of geomorphology, the study of landforms.       In 1870 he began three… …   Universalium

  • William Morris Davis — (Philadelphie1850 Pasadena1934) est un géographe américain. Il est souvent considéré comme le « père de la géographie américaine » et connu également comme le père de la géomorphologie[1],[2]. Il est surtout célèbre pour sa théorie du… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William Morris Davis — (12 de febrero de 1850 5 de febrero de 1934) fue un geógrafo estadounidense, a menudo llamado el padre de la geografía americana no solo por su trabajo y esfuerzos tendientes a establecer la geografía como disciplina académica sino también por… …   Wikipedia Español

  • William Morris Davis — (February 12 1850 February 5 1934) was an American geographer, geologist, and meteorologist, often called the father of American geography .He was born into a Quaker family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, son of Edward M. Davis and Maria Mott… …   Wikipedia

  • William Morris Davis — (* 12. Februar 1850 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; † 5. Februar 1934 in Pasadena, Kalifornien) war ein US amerikanischer Naturwissenschaftler. Während seiner akademischen Karriere leistete er Bedeutendes auf den Gebieten der Geographie, Geologie… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Morris Agency — ist der Name einer US amerikanischen Künstleragentur, die Künstler aus allen Teilen der Unterhaltungsindustrie (u. a. Film, Fernsehen, Musik, Literatur, Bühne) vertritt. Das Unternehmen ist nach eigener Auskunft das größte und am stärksten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Morris (desambiguación) — William Morris puede referise a: William Morris, escritor, diseñador, y activista político británico. William C. Morris, pedagogo y pastor metodista evangélico británico. William Morris Davis, geógrafo estadounidense. William C. Morris, ciudad… …   Wikipedia Español

  • William Morris Davis (congressman) — William Morris Davis (August 16, 1815 ndash;August 5, 1891) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Early lifeWilliam Morris Davis was born in Keene Valley, New York. He moved to Pennsylvania and became a… …   Wikipedia

  • William Morris Agency — Infobox Company company name = William Morris Agency company type = Private company | foundation = New York, New York, USA (1898) location = Beverly Hills, California (USA) key people = Dave Wirtschafter, President Jim Wiatt, CEO Norman Brokaw,… …   Wikipedia

  • Davis — ist ein häufiger Familienname. Er steht zum König David im Alten Testament, im allgemeinen mit einer patronymischen s Bildung zu dem häufigen Vornamen David, als Verkürzung aus Davids. Davis ist auch der Name einer Universitätsstadt in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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