Memorial to Edward Hollister Wisser1895-1970

E R N S T CLOOS The Jo h n s H opkins University, B altim ore, M aryland 21218

On February 22, 1970, follow ing open heart surgery, Edward W isser died, leaving a gap that cannot be filled. He is survived by his wife Frances and two sons.He was Professor Emeritus of Mineral Explora­tion of the University of California, and had moved in 1967 to T useon, Arizona, where he was V isiting Scholar in Geological Engineering at the University of Arizona, and a practicing consulting geologist.Ed Wisser was born on July 25, 1895, at Fort H am ilton, New York. At about high school age, he learned to speak and read German during a stay in Germany, where his father was a military

attache in Berlin for the U nited States Army. T h is knowledge of German became very im portant to him in his scientific work.

In 1917, he received a B.S. in M ining Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley and then served in France and Germany for two years as a lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. After the war, Ed spent two years at Ray Consolidated Mine, Arizona, as Slope Engineer and one year each as Assistant Superintendent at El T igre M ine, in M exico, and for Vanderbilt M ining Company, in California. In 1924, he decided that he wanted to be a m ining geologist, rather than a m ine operator, and returned to the Univer­sity of California for a year of graduate work under A. C. Lawson, G. 1). Louderback, and (1 D. H ulin . T h at year may well have kindled the scientific interest and attitude which was reflected in his later publications. From 1924 to 1925, lie held a teaching fellow ship ai the University of California.

rFhe follow ing year, Ed was geologist for Phelps Dodge Corporation at Bisbee, Arizona, was associated with Augustus Locke, and was also working with F. L. Ransome, who was then teaching at the University of Arizona. His paper oil “O xidation Subsidence” at Bisbee, Arizona, is a product of that work.

In 1926, Ed went to Pachuca, M exico, and worked under C. D. H ulin , who was then Chief G eologist for Com pania Real Del M onte y Pachuca, a sub­sidiary of U.S. Sm elting, R efin ing and M ining Company. Shortly thereafter, on Dr. H u lin ’s return to the U nited States, Ed was appointed C hief G eologist of M exican operations for U.S. Sm elting, R efin ing and M ining Company. Between 1926 and 1936, he did m ine m apping, pétrographie studies or rocks

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144 T H E GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

and ores, and exploration and exam ination work throughout M exico at Sombrerete, Guanajuato, Santa Maria del Oro, Concepcion, M atahuala, and Cinco Minas. H e was responsible lor exploration expenditures in excess of a m illion dollars annually.

H is work at Pachuca led to outstanding papers on fracture systems, vein structures, and m ineralization. During the preparation of these papers, we became friends because he disagreed with my editing, which resulted in a vigorous exchange of correspondence. Later he came to Johns H opkins as Johnston Scholar for the academic year 1939-1940. H e worked then on frac­ture patterns as related to dom ing. T h e results of this study and later ones culm inated in the publication of G.S.A. M emoir 77 in 1960.

In 1936, Ed started to practice as independent consulting geologist and during 19 years he covered a wide variety of assignments. T h e list of projects and assignments is long and substantial, including exploration in the western U nited States, M exico, and the Philippine Islands, as well as appraisals of prospects and possibilities for m etalliferous developm ents. H e studied gold prospects, lead-zinc deposits, copper mines, quicksilver, sulfur, gypsum, and build ing materials. H e also made surveys of potential water damage and appraised m ining procedures from the engineering view point. Emphasis varied w ith the problems at hand and with the regions. H is versatility isam ply dem onstrated by this record.

In addition, several projects led to publications such as the Pachuca Studies and the regional study of Baja California. Several general papers dealt w ith com prehensive subjects; for instance, the deform ation of the Cordilleran R egion, the relationships of the plutons to the sedimentary rocks at Baguio, and a comparison of the Paracale deposits with those at H og M ountian, Alabama.

W ith growing experience, stature, and fame, Ed developed an increasing interest in scholarly work, research, and writing but, at the same time, m aintained or even increased his work in applied econom ic geology.

In 1946, he became Lecturer in M ining at the University of California at Berkeley, Professor of M ining in 1947, and then Professor of M ineral Ex­ploration in the Departm ent of Mineral Technology. H e was rated as an excellent teacher by his students and he concentrated his efforts largely on the problems of mineral exploration, but not to the exclusion of other prob­lems in structural geology. His students learned that accurate field observa­tions are vital to mineral exploration. He kept his consulting office in San Francisco while teaching at Berkeley and from July, 1955, worked with M anning W. Cox as associate and partner.

H e retired in 1962, which he described as follows:I am w riting th is ju st before the last class lecture I shall ever give. 1 re tire officially

EDWARD HOLLISTER WISSER 145

Ju ly 1 b u t lectures end today (May 25, 1962) . I t gives one a funny feeling, h a rd to describe. I am no t cu ttin g loose from the U niversity com pletely. P resent p lans call for m y serving next year on q ua rte r-tim e , as adviser to g rad u ate students on th e ir thesis problem s, etc. B ut I s tipu lated : no fixed hours, an d th a t I should be a ro u n d on an average about one day a week. T h is is p a rtly because I have sold my Berkeley house an d am in process of buying one w ith 6 acres ab o u t 12 m iles n o rth of P lacerville — beau tifu l view of the Sierra.

Later he continues:“I ju st finished my final lecture. One of the studen ts got u p an d m ade a sho rt speech-

then all got u p an d clapped — m ost em barrassing — b u t it all helps m e th ink th a t my 15 years here have no t been en tire ly wasted.

They certainly were not! In 1965, the University of California conferred upon him an honorary L.L.D. degree. Of his retirement he wrote:

M an is never satisfied, a lth ou g h I come closer to it here th an a t Berkeley. W hen I re tired I rejoiced in the fact th a t I w ould never again have to s tand p rep ared to lecture a t 9:10 in Room 290. A nd yet I miss it. Last academ ic year I re tu rn ed to Berkeley on i/4 tim e. W hen convenien t to m e I w ent to Berkeley and gave 2 o r 3 lectures to the ex ­p lo ration class on a given topic and then re tu rn ed to my h ideout. I n o t only enjoyed those lectures m ore th an the old ro u tin e b u t the boys seemed to get m ore o u t o f them . T h is spring sem ester a g roup of g rad u ate students came u p here to a tte n d a series o f sem inars on stru c tu ra l con tro l of ore deposits. T h e volun teer p roposal from m en I have never even m et fla ttered me.

O therwise I am engaged in a system atic study of th e ep itherm al bonanza deposits, no sm all job .At that time he also completed work on G.S.A. Memoir 77.

In September, 1968, Ed Wisser joined the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering at the University of Arizona as Visiting Scholar and moved from his “hideout” to Tucson. W. C. Lacy, head of that department, writes about this period:

H e worked w ith th e U niversity of Arizona g rad u ate studen ts in evening sem inar courses on m ineral deposits, m ineral economics, and exp loration . O ne course in p articu la r was b u ilt aro u n d E d ’s excep tional knowledge of ep itherm al m ineral deposits in th e U.S., Mexico and the P hilipp ines. In an o th er course Ed co n tribu ted from his considerable bacground in m etallogeny of the w estern U.S. H e opened h is extensive files to the g rad u ate students an d counselled w ith them on thesis projects.

Ed was a m ajor co n trib u to r (1968-69) to the 5-volum e study o f N o n -fu e l M ineral R e ­sources and P ub lic L ands p rep ared for th e Public L and Law Review Com mission to serve as a guideline fo r the fo rm ula tion of U.S. m ineral policy. H e was largely responsible for the sections on h istory, geology an d m ineral po ten tia l in the w estern U nited States.

D u rin g his stay a t T ucson Ed served as a consu ltan t for B ear C reek M in ing Co., for U nion Oil C om pany an d others. H e rem ained active in the field in spite o f a severe h ea rt condition .

In 1968 Ed was p resen ted w ith senior m em bership in Am erican In s titu te of M ining an d M etalurgical E ngineers a t the an n ua l b an qu et of th e Southern A rizona Section.

Ed Wisser was fortunate that he did not need a retirement hobby but could continue the work which had become his hobby. During his long and

146 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

colorful career, he had become an outstanding scientist and a devoted and enthusiastic teacher.

Ed was a Fellow of T h e Geological Society of America (1937), a member of the Society of Economic Geologists (1937), M ining and M etallurgical Society of America, American Institute of M ining and M etallurgical Engi­neers, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, N ational Research Council, Sigma Xi, T au Beta Pi, T heta T au , and the Geochem ical Society.

T h e preparation of this memorial was made possible by inform ation sup­plied by Charles A. Anderson, E. N. Pennebaker, M anning W. Cox, and W. C. Lacy. I am most grateful for their assistance.

B IB LIO G R A PH Y OF EDW ARD H O L L IS T E R WISSER 1927 O xida tion subsidence a t Bisbee, Arizona. F.con. Geol. vol. 22, p . 761-790.1932 An aid in the in te rp re ta tio n of d iam ond d rill cores. Econ. Geol. vol. 27, p. 437-449.1936 Form ation of the north -sou th fractures of the Real del M onte area, Pachuca Silver

D istrict, Mcxico. A.I.M.E. T echnical I’ubl. No. 753-1 63, p. 1-47 (also Transactions v. 126, p. 422-487).

1937 Use of the m icroscope to discover faults cu t by d iam ond d rill holes. Econ. Geol. vol. 32, p . 570-578.

1939 T h e env iro n m en t of ore bodies. A.I.M .E . Technical P ubl. 1026 15 p.— Geologic parallels: H og M ountain , A labam a, and Paracale, P h ilipp ine Islands.

Econ. Geol. vol. 34, p. 297-323.— “Vigo G ro up " in tru d ed by q uartzd io rite a t Baguio, P h ilip p in e Islands. Proc. 6th

Pacific Sci. Congr. p. 651-657.1941 A lbite and gold. Econ. Geol. vol. 36, p. 658-663.— Some observation on ore search. C on trib u tio n to Symposium. A.I.M .E . Trans.

vol. 144, p. 140-145.— Discussion of p ap er by H . E. M cKinstry. S truc tural contro l of o re deposition in

fissure veins. A .I.M .E . Trans, vol.- 144, p. 87-93.— D ynam ic ore contro l [abstr.]. Econ. Geol. vol. 36, p. 106-107.— T h e en v ironm en t of ore bodies. A.I.M .E . Technical P ubli. 1026; M itring Technology

vol. 3, no. 1, 15 p. (also Transactions vol. 144, p. 96-110).1942 T h e P ach u ta Silver D istrict, Mexico. In Ore deposits as related to structural features,

W. H. N ew house, ed., P rinceton Univ. Press, p. 229-235.1946 Discussion of p ap er by C. L. T h o rn b u rg , Some applications of stru c tu ra l geology to

m in in g in the l’achuca-R eal del M onte area, etc. Econ. Geol. vol. 41, p. 77-86.1948 M ineral re la tionsh ips in the ores of Pachuca and R eal dc M onte, H idalgo, M excico—A

reply. Econ. Geol. vol. 43, p. 280-292.1950 T o m o rrow ’s ore. M in. Cong. J. vol. 36, p. 22-32.

— “ N evadan”-“L aram id e” T ertia ry upheaval and re la ted ore deposits [abstr.]. Econ. Geol. vol. 45, p. 386-387.

1951 T ectonic analysis of a m in ing d istric t: Pachuca, Mexico. Econ. Geol. vol. 46, p. 459- 477.

— S tru c tu ra l geology as the setting fo r m in ing operations [abstr.]. Econ. Geol. vol. 46, p. 104.

1954 Geology and ore deposits o f B aja C alifo rn ia , Mexico. Econ. Geol. vol. 49, p. 44-76.1956 (w ith M. D T u rn e r) M ineral exp loration and m in ing of clays. Calif. /. M ines and

Geol. vol. 52, p. 131-144.1957 D eform ation in the C ordilleran region of W estern U nited Stales. In Rehaxnor

of m aterials in the earth's crust, H artm an , H. L„ ed., Colo. School M ines Q uart,vol. 52, p . 53-73.

1958 M etal m in ing geology. M in. Eng., p. 239-243.1959 C ord ille ran ore d istric ts in re la tion to regional s tructure . Canadian M in . M etall.

Hull. 561, p. 34-42.1960 R ela tion o f ore deposition to dom ing in the N orth Am erican Cordillera. M em oir

77, New York, Geol. Soc. Am erica, 112 p.