Archives West Finding Aid

Harold W. Fairbanks (1860-1952) was an expert on the geology and geography of the Pacific Coast. He was born in Conewango, New York on August 29, 1860 and attended the University of Michigan, graduating in 1890. He received his Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 1896. He wrote over 40 articles relating to geology and geography. He published Stories of Our Mother Earth, a book which is both a nature study and a physical geography of California. He was also a photographer, recording the physical landscape as part of his work in geology and geography. In about 1895, he embarked on a project to make photographs as illustrations for his study of physical geography. After ten years he had produced about 4,000 negatives covering the major regions in California along with some out of state areas as far north as Vancouver Island and as far east as Nebraska. He used his photographs to make lantern slides to accompany his lectures. He also used them in his books, Stories of 1899 and Practical Physiography, and other publications.