A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DOCTOR JOHN B. TRASK 
FIRST STATE GEOLOGIST OF CALIFORNIA 
BY 
ANTHONY W. VOGDES 
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA 
Doctor John B. Trask was born at Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1824, 
and died at San Francisco, California, July 3rd, 1879, in the 55th year of 
his age. He was one of the charter members of the Academy of Natural 
Sciences of San Francisco and contributed many papers to the Academy. 
His last paper was read before the Academy February 19th, 1866; after- 
wards, though always interested in the welfare of the Academy, he ceased 
to take an active part, and devoted his time to the practice of medicine, 
in which he was professionally skilled, and remarkable for originality 
and independent thought. 
Through him the medical professions of the Pacific coast were first 
made acquainted with the ode of preparation of Mentel’s Aluminated 
solution and other valuable styptics. 
Doctor Trask paid early attention to the medical flora of the Pacific 
and made known or discovered the virtues of such plants as Verda santa, 
for rheumatism, etc., Damiana, a nerve tonic, and Grindelia robusta, for 
oak poisoning, and other plants. 
The first Pacific medical journal published in California was edited 
by Dr. Trask, in conjunction with Dr. Wooster, under the title of the 
“Pacific Medical and Surgical Journal,’’ in the year 1858. After some 
vears of laborious editorial work the journal passed out of his hands. 
Doctor Trask was licentiate of Yale University, passing examinations 
in Geology, Mineralogy, Chemistry, Medical Botany and cognate 
sciences, and was subsequently honored by the ad ewndem degree in the 
year 1859. 
He was also the subject of honorable recognition by various European 
and American scientific societies, with honorary degrees from Italian and 
German colleges, awarded for his researches and discoveries in Organic 
Chemistry, Mineralogy, Microscopy and Medical Botany. 
Personally, Dr. Trask was remarkable for originality and independent 
thought, earnest and generous-hearted, free from the acquisitive instinct, 
