William North Rice

William North Rice (1845–1928) was an American geologist, educator, and Methodist minister and theologian concerned with reconciliation of science and religious faith. Early life and education Rice was born November 21, 1845, in Marblehead, Massachusetts, to the Rev. William Rice and Caroline Laura (North) Rice. He prepared for college at Springfield High School in Springfield, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1865 with a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, serving as class valedictorian. His interest in religious ministry began early with an invitation to preach at Grace Church in Boston shortly after his graduation in 1865. In 1867 after studies at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College, he earned the first PhD in the United States to be awarded in the field of Geology. Upon graduation from Yale, he was offered a faculty position at Wesleyan University, but he opted to undertake post-doctoral studies in Germany for a year at the renowned Institute of Natural History established by Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) at the University of Berlin. Later in 1886, he earned a doctor of laws (LL.D.) degree at Syracuse University. Academic career Rice served as professor of geology and natural history at Wesleyan beginning in 1868. Early in his career he was ordained as a minister, joining the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. During the early 1870s, Rice undertook zoological research work with Spencer Baird at the newly established laboratory of the United States Fish Commission at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Later in the winter 1876 to 1877, he was part of a major geological and zoological expedition to Bermuda, one of the first expeditions of its type undertaken by American scientists. In the early 1880s, Rice took an interest in the geology of Europe, traveling for research activities there in 1881 and 1884. He continued further work with European colleagues in an extended trip to Germany from 1892 to 1893, and in later to France in 1900. Beginning in 1891, Rice took an active interest in the geology of the American West, traveling to Yellowstone National Park and other Rocky Mountain locations as part of an international geological expedition. Later in 1904, he conducted research in the Grand Canyon and Mexico, and later in that decade he traveled to Alaska to study the glaciers of Yakutat Bay.