Dakota County History 101: Charles Berkey (1866-1955) Geologist

Charles Berkey was born in Goshen, IN in 1866. Peter and Lydia Berkey moved their ten children to Dakota County in 1878. After graduating from Farmington High School in 1887, Berkey attended the University of Minnesota and became the first person to receive a doctorate in geology from the school. Berkey stayed at his alma mater as a professor of geology from 1893-1902.

In 1903, Berkey accepted a position at Columbia University where he became America’s premier geologist. Berkey gained recognition for the fieldwork he conducted in the United States and all over the world. He was instrumental in the construction of the New York and Boston aqueducts, the New York Port Authority and the Hoover Dam. Government agencies like the Bureau of Reclamation, the War Department, and the Tennessee Valley Authority frequently requested his services.

Berkey was also involved in the classroom study of geology as he is credited with transforming geology from a pure science to an applied science. Further, he also contributed many articles and essays on the field, most notably his book “The Berkey Volume.”

Columbia University retained Berkey until he retired in 1932, the university named him Newberry Professor Emeritus of Geology soon after.  Berkey lived out his retirement in Palisades, NJ, before passing at age 88 in 1955.