engineering

William Otis Crosby

William Otis Crosby is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand William Otis Crosby rather than just read about it. In short: William Otis Crosby (January 14, 1850, Decatur, Byrd Township, Brown County, Ohio - 31 December 1925, Boston) was an American geologist and engineer. Crosby was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1906), as well a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1881).

Key takeaways

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Reproduce the core statement of William Otis Crosby from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

William Otis Crosby (January 14, 1850, Decatur, Byrd Township, Brown County, Ohio - 31 December 1925, Boston) was an American geologist and engineer. Crosby was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1906), as well a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1881).

Biography Crosby graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in 1876. In 1875, while still a student, he was an assistant in geology and mineralogy in the Boston Society of Natural History, where he worked under the guidance of the paleontologist Alpheus Hyatt. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was appointed instructor at the same institute in the Department of Geology (1878-1883). In 1881 he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1883 he received the post of assistant and held this post until 1902. Then he worked as an assistant professor (1902-1906) and professor of mineralogy and lithology until 1907, when progressive deafness led him to resign. For his final year in post (1906-1907), Crosby was also head of the Department of Geology. After the termination of teaching activity, he worked as an expert consultant on the construction of engineering structures. He died in Boston on December 31, 1925.

Scientific and engineering activities Teaching at the Institute was combined with extensive scientific and engineering activities. The research covered such areas as mineralogy, igneous rocks, glaciology, physical geography, metamorphism, economic geology, fracture disturbance and tectonics, coral reefs, engineering geology and groundwater. He gave one of the first classifications of fractured disturbance of rock massifs (1882). He advised projects in the United States, Alaska, Mexico and Spain. Among them such as Catskill Aqueduct, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Arrowrock Dam, La Boquilla Dam in Chihuahua (Mexico) and others.

Awards and recognition Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1881) Member of the Geological Society of America Member of the Seismological Society of America Member of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers Member of the Boston Society of Natural History The Walker Award (2x) from the Boston Society of Natural History Bronze medal of the Exposition Universelle (1900)

Personal life Crosby married Alice Ballard on September 4, 1876. They had a son, Irwin Ballard Crosby, born in 1891, who later graduated from MIT, and became an engineering geologist.

Hetty Orrilla Ballard Crosby was an uncle to Hetty Orrilla Ballard (1868-1897), who lived with Crosby's family for a number of years. Ballard was the only woman to graduate in geology from MIT in 1893, and worked for a while 'so long as her health would permit', as assistant in paleontology at the museum of the Boston Society of Natural History. Ballard died in Colorado Springs in 1897.

References

Bibliography W. O. Crosby Native Bitumens and the Pitch Lake of Trinidad. - The American Naturalist, 1879, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Apr., 1879), pp. 229–246 W. O. Crosby Common Minerals and Rocks. - Boston Society Natural History, Guides for Science Teaching, No. XII. - Boston, Heath & Co., First edition: 1881. - 205 p. Crosby, W. O., 1882, On the classification and origin of joint structures, Proc. Boston Society Natural History, 1882-1883, v. 22, pp. 72-85. - Boston: Printed for the Society 1884. W. O. Crosby, I. B. Crosby Keystone faults. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 1925, volume 36, pages 623-640.

External links Alfred C. Lane William Otis Crosby (1850–1925). In: Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Vol. 64, No. 12 (October, 1930), pp. 518–526 Nickles, J. M. (1928). Bibliography of North American Geology, 1924-1925 (Vol. 802). US Government Printing Office. William Otis Crosby The Online Books Page. Online Books by William Otis Crosby (Crosby, William Otis, 1850-1925) Mineralogical Record. Curtis Schuh's Bibliography of Mineralogy. ABA: I 376, 302-308. Adams O.F., Dictionary of American Authors, 1904. - p.80 Appleton Cyclopedia of American Biography, vol.2, pp.18-19. H. W. SHIMER and W. LINDGREN. Memorial of William Otis Crosby. Bulletin Geological Society of America, v. 38, number 1 (March 30, 1927), pp. 34–45., portrait. Dictionary of American Biography, v.4, pp. 569-570. - Ed.: Charles Scribner's Sons, NEW YORK, 1930. - 637 p. Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography. p.159 World Biographical Information System (WBIS) Online. Who Was Who in America, v.1. 1897-1942, p. 279. - Ed.: New Providence, N.J. Marquis-Who's Who, 1966. - 1418 p.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William Otis Crosby

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William Otis Crosby claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to William Otis Crosby before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about William Otis Crosby ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of William Otis Crosby

In research: William Otis Crosby appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses William Otis Crosby in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: William Otis Crosby is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1850 births, 1925 deaths, American engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William Otis Crosby outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study William Otis Crosby in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what William Otis Crosby means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
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Frequently asked questions

What is William Otis Crosby in simple terms?

Why does William Otis Crosby matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study William Otis Crosby?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on William Otis Crosby.