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Article: Lesley, J. Peter
- Article from:
- Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Charles Scribner's Sons. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Lesley, J. Peter
(
b.
Philadelphila, Pennsylvanis, 17 September 1819;
d.
Milton, Massachusetts, 1 June 1903),
geology
Fourth in a line of Peter Lesleys and first son of Peter III and Elizabeth Oswald Allen, Peter Lesley was a delicate, introverted, and bookish youngster. He entered the University of Pennsylvania at fifteen and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1838. Frail health frustrated his plans to continue directly in school studying for the Presbyterian ministry, so at his father
’
s urging he sought outdoor employment. He joined the first state survey of Pennsylvania, directed by Henry Darwin Rogers, and passed the years 1838
–
1841 surveying the bituminous and anthracite coal ...