Hayden, Ferdinand Vandeveer

Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 - December 22, 1887) was an American geologist remembered for leading late 19th century pioneering surveying expedition in the Rocky Mountains and served as a doctor in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. Born in Westfield, Massachusetts, and discovered a fascination with nature and wildlife in his youth. He studied at Oberlin College and graduated in 1850, then attended the Albany Medical College and earned his degree in 1853. While at Albany, Hayden garnered the attention of Professor James Hall, then the state geologist of New York. Professor Hall convinced Hayden to join an expedition to the Nebraska Territory, where he collected fossils and studied geology. He accompanied expeditions led by Gouverneur K. Warren in 1856 and 1857 and the Raynolds Expedition of 1860 led by Captain William F. Raynolds. He served as an army surgeon during the U.S. Civil War and rose to become the chief medical officer of the Army of the Shenandoah. After the war, Hayden resumed working on geologic and geographic surveys in the Nebraska and Western Territories and was appointed geologist-in-chief of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories in 1867. Hayden led the first federally funded geological survey into the Yellowstone Region in northwestern Wyoming in 1871 under orders from Secretary of the Interior Columbus Delano. The expedition included fifty men, including painter Thomas Moran and Civil War photographer William Henry Jackson. Hayden's report on the expedition, Preliminary Report of the United State Geological Survey of Montana and Portions of Adjacent Territories; Being a Fifth Annual Report of Progress played an instrumental role in persuading Congress to establish Yellowstone as the first U.S. National Park.