Edward Hitchcock (24 May 1793 – 27 February 1864) was the third President of Amherst College, from 1845 to 1854. Born to poor parents, he attended newly-founded Deerfield Academy and in 1821 was ordained as a Congregationalist pastor. A few years later he left the ministry to become Professor of Chemistry and Natural History at Amherst College. He held that post from 1825 to 1845, serving as Professor of Natural Theology and Geology from 1845 to his death in 1864. In 1845 Hitchcock became President of the College, a post he held until 1854. As President, Hitchcock was responsible for Amherst's recovery from severe financial difficulties. He is also credited with developing the College's scientific resources and establishing its reputation for scientific teaching. May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Amherst College is an independent liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. It is the third oldest college in Massachusetts. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Deerfield Academy is a prep school located in Deerfield, Massachusetts. ... 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation indepedently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ... // Introduction The fundamental component of chemistry is that it involves matter in some way (this explains its broad reach). ... Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as a number of distinct scientific disciplines. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

In addition to his positions at Amherst, Hitchcock was a well-known early geologist. He ran the first geological survey of Massachusetts, and in 1830 was appointed state geologist of Massachusetts (he held the post until 1844). He also played a role in the geological surveys of New York and Vermont. His chief project, however, was natural theology, which attempted to unify and reconcile science and religion, focusing on geology. His major work in this area was The Religion of Geology and its Connected Sciences (Boston, 1851). In this book, he found somewhat tortured ways to make the Bible agree with the latest geological theories. For example, he knew that the earth was at least hundreds of thousands of years old, vastly older than the 6,000 years posited by Biblical scholars. Hitchcock actually found a way to read the original Hebrew so that a single letter in Genesis -- a v', meaning "afterwards" -- implied the vast timespans during which the earth was formed. Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... State nickname: Bay State Official languages English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Senators Edward Kennedy (D), John Kerry (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 44th 27,360 km² 25. ... 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... State nickname: The Empire State Official languages English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Clinton (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 13. ... State nickname: The Green Mountain State Official languages None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Governor Jim Douglas (R) Senators Patrick Leahy (D) Jim Jeffords (I) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 43th 24,923 km² 3. ... Natural theology (or natural religion) is theology based on reason and ordinary experience. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... 1851 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Hitchcock left his mark in paleontology. He published papers on fossilized tracks in the Connecticut Valley that were later associated with dinosaurs, though he believed, with a certain prescience, that they were made by gigantic ancient birds. His son, Edward "Doc" Hitchcock, named one of the earliest dinosaurs discovered in America, Megadactylus polyzelus. Later it was reclassified as the type specimen of Anchisaurus polyzelus (ACM 41109), a prosauropod. A fossil Ammonite Fossils are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains — or other traces (such as footprints) — of animals, plants, and other organisms. ... [[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]] {{{diversity}}} Binomial name {{{binomial}}} Trinomial name {{{trinomial}}} Type Species {{{type_species}}} Orders & Suborders Saurischia    Sauropodomorpha    Theropoda Ornithischia [[Image:{{{range_map}}}|{{{range_map_width}}}|]] Synonyms {{{synonyms}}} Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-12-30, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... A holotype is one of several possible types. ... Species Type specimen: (Hitchcock, 1865) Other specimens: (Marsh, 1889) Anchisaurus (ANG-kee-sawr-us) meaning near lizard, because it resembled its reptilian ancestors and was an early dinosaur (Greek anchi = near + sauros = lizard) is a genus of dinosaurs. ... Families Plateosauridae (paraphyletic) Plesion Riojasaurus Massospondylidae Yunnanosauridae Prosauropoda or prosauropods were a group of early herbivorous dinosaurs that lived during the Late Triassic and early Jurassic periods. ...

External links

• An article, "Early Discoveries of Dinosaurs From North America and the Significance of the Springfield Armory Dinosaur Site", by Vincent L. Santucci.
• A [1], The Religion of Geology and its Connected Sciences by Edward Hitchcock