William Phipps Blake (June 1, 1826 – May 22, 1910) was an American geologist, mining consultant, and educator. Blake has been credited with being 'the first college trained chemist employed full-time in American industry' before graduating from Yale. Selected as the mineralogist and geologist of the Pacific Railroad Exploring Expedition in 1853, Blake made several important discoveries, including studying the erosive effects of wind-blown sand in San Gorgonio Pass in California. Several of the sketches he produced for the Railroad Survey reports are not highly sought after as works of art. Over the course of his career, Blake served in several different official government posts, including as the California representative to the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867 and to collect and install the mineral exhibit at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Blake also became a sought-after expert witness for testimony in court cases involving the geology of mineral deposits. His final stop in a long an illustrious career was at the University of Arizona, where he served as a Professor of Geology and as Director of the School of Mines.



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