William Herbert Hobbs, Ph.D. (Worcester, Mass., July 2, 1864 – Ann Arbor, MI, January 1, 1953) was an American geologist.
William Herbert Hobbs, geologist and leader of four expeditions to Greenland, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, July 2, 1864, the son of Horace and Mary Paine (Parker) Hobbs. He was educated at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (in 1883 he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science.), at Johns Hopkins (Ph.D., 1888), and at Heidelberg (1888–89).[1]
He filled several positions at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1889–1906). From 1886 to 1906 he served with the United States Geological Survey. He received his appointment as Professor of Geology, Aug. 6, 1906. He also taught at the University of Michigan (1906 - 1934).[2]
During his career, Hobbs lead four expeditions to Greenland and made several trips in Europe. In about 1906, he made a "record ascent" of Mont Blanc, "lowering the previous record by an hour and a half, " according to one biographical source which offers no further detail nor source information.[3] Hobbs gained notoriety in 1909, when he denounced as fraud Dr. F.A. Cook's claim of having reached the North Pole. Hobbs was then counter-attacked by Cook.
A few years later, Hobbs crusaded actively for American participation in World War II, helping to found and lead the 1915 Ann Arbor Branch of the National Security League, he subsequently engaged in related and comparable actions to discourage formation of the League of Nations, [4]
Professional and scientific organizations to which Hobbs has been elected to membership or to office are the following:
He became editor of the Journal of Geology in 1909.
On June 23, 1896, he was married at Evanston, Illinois, to Mrs. Sara Kimball Sale, who died in 1940. They had one daughter, Winifred Sara Weston Hobbs, (b. 1899) who later became Mrs. Joseph Newhall Lincoln.
He died in Ann Arbor, MI on January 1, 1953, at the age of 88.[5]
