THE INCORPORATORS 125 
JAMES DWIGHT DANA 
Born, February 12, 1813; died, April 14, 1895 
The Dana family is supposed to be either French or Italian 
in origin. Its earliest American representative was Richard 
Dana who came from England in 1690, and settled at Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts. From him many men illustrious in 
science and literature trace their pedigree. James Dwight Dana, 
the oldest in a family of ten children, was born in Utica, New 
York, February 12, 1813. “ Honesty, virtue, and industry seem 
almost to be our natural inheritance,” was his own estimate of 
his home. His first instruction in science was obtained in a 
school conducted by Charles Bartlett at Utica, and known as 
the “ Utica High School.” In 1830 young Dana entered Yale 
College, attracted there, as he said, by the reputation of Pro- 
fessor Benjamin Silliman. Entering as a sophomore, he was 
graduated in 1833. By the recommendation of his professors, 
he received the position of instructor in the Navy, leaving New 
York, on August 14, of the same year, in the ship of the line 
Delaware, for a cruise to the Mediterranean. In July, 1834, 
he visited Mt. Vesuvius, and a letter written to Professor Silli- 
man describing its state at that time was published in the 
American Journal of Science the following year. On his return 
to New York after a voyage of 16 months, Dana was invited to 
become assistant to Professor Silliman, which offer he gladly 
accepted and was thus brought into touch with the circle of 
scientific men at Yale. At this time he began work on his System 
of Mineralogy the first edition of which was published in 1837. 
When the United States Exploring Expedition, under Captain 
Wilkes, was preparing for its cruise in the Pacific Ocean, Pro- 
fessor Dana was selected as the mineralogist and geologist. This 
appointment was made in January, 1837, but the expedition did 
not sail until August 18, 1838. It returned to New York on June 
10, 1842. Dana’s letters written during the cruise are most enter- 
taining, besides furnishing valuable geological and mineral- 
ogical information regarding the countries visited. While 
preparing his reports, which occupied him for a period of 13 
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