Richard Urquhart Goode. 

 1858-1903. 



In the death of Mr. Richard Urquhart Goode at Rockville, 

 Md., on June 16, 1903, the Washington Academy of Sciences 

 lost a charter member who had always taken a lively interest in 

 its proceedings, and the United States Geological Survey lost 

 one of its most trusted and accomplished division chiefs, 



Mr. Goode was born in Bedford, Va., on December 6, 1858. 

 His ancestors were among the more prominent of the early 

 settlers of the United States, the family genealogy dating back 

 to England. His father, Hon. John Goode, for a number of 

 years represented Virginia in Congress, and during the first ad- 

 ministration of President Cleveland served with distinction as 

 Solicitor General. Richard Goode's mother was Sallie Urqu- 

 hart, of Wight County, Va. 



Mr. Goode's earl}-^ education was received at Hanover 

 Academy, Norfolk, Va., after which he attended the Uni- 

 versity of Virginia for several terms. His first experience in 

 engineering was acquired in 1877 and 1878 as assistant in the 

 Engineer Corps of the Arnw. In 1879 ^^ received an appoint- 

 ment from the Secretary of the Interior as topographer in the 

 United States Geological Survey, and until 1882 he retained 

 this appointment. During that period he had charge of a party 

 of surveyors engaged in extending topographic surveys through 

 portions of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. In 1883, on the 

 creation of the Northern Trans-Continental Survey, under the 

 auspices of the Northern Pacific Railway, a large corps of 

 geologists and topographers was engaged under Raphael Pum- 

 pelly in an exhaustive study of the natural resources of the 

 region contiguous to the proposed line of railway. On this 

 work Mr. Goode was employed as topographer during a por- 

 tion of 1884, when he conducted extensive surveys in Montana, 

 Washington and elsewhere in the northwest. In 1884 the 

 United States Geological Survey being in urgent need of the 

 services of skilled engineers, Mr. Goode was induced to re- 



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