Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose Jr., was an American mining geologist and entrepreneur.
Occupation
geologist, entrepreneur
Position held
President of the Geological Society of America
Citizenship
United States
Born
December 17, 1863
Died
July 31, 1931
Overview
Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose Jr. (December 17, 1863 – July 31, 1931), better known throughout his career as R. A. F. Penrose Jr., was an American mining geologist and entrepreneur.
He was from a prominent Philadelphia family of British descent. His brothers were U.S. senator Boies Penrose, mining engineer Spencer Penrose, and gynecologist Charles Bingham Penrose, and his grandfather was U.S. politician Charles B. Penrose.
Penrose graduated in 1885 with a Ph.D. from Harvard for work on phosphates. Later, he performed geological surveys in Texas and Arkansas until 1892, and then traveled the country as a mining surveyor. Most notable was his survey of Cripple Creek, Colorado, for the U.S. Geological Survey. Penrose refrained from purchasing or investing in mines in the Cripple Creek area because of what he saw as his ethical responsibility as a USGS employee, but did purchase and invest in mines elsewhere, including silver and copper mines in Arizona.
In 1903 his brothers and father were investors who formed the Utah Copper Company.
