Curtis Fletcher Marbut (1863 to 1935) was an American soil scientist who directed the Soil Survey Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1913 until his death, and developed the first formal soil classification scheme for the United States. Trained as a geologist, he came to see soil science as distinct from geology, a shift influenced by Eugene W. Hilgard; his classification work, informed by his own translation of Konstantin Glinka's soil geography from German to English, became the basis for the 1938 USDA soil taxonomy.
Facts
Defining ContributionDirected the USDA Soil Survey Division from 1913 and developed the first formal soil classification scheme for the United States. 1 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Curtis F. Marbut (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundationlead paragraph, first sentence
Curtis Fletcher Marbut (1863-1935) served as Director of the Soil Survey Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1913 until his death in 1935.
Early life and education section
Marbut was born and raised in Barry County, Missouri.
lead paragraph, second sentence
Marbut developed the first formal soil classification scheme for the United States.
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