François E. Matthes was born on March 16, 1874 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to parents who both came of old, distinguished families. He was one of twin sons of Willem Ernst Matthes, who was a prosperous dealer in such colonial products as rubber and hemp, and Johanna Suzanna (van der Does de Bije) Matthes, a brilliant woman. At the family's stately mansion facing a canal, numerous social functions were held. They vacationed at coastal and mountain resorts in France and Spain. François and his brother, Gerard Hendrik, shared instruction in art and drafting. François's precocity, particularly in sketching animals, amazed everyone.
Education
At about the age of ten, the twins were taken to Switzerland to recover from malaria (then endemic in the Netherlands) and to gain a cosmopolitan education. Their father taught them map-reading as together they explored in the Alps. At Chamonix, France, they marveled at the awesome glacial crevasses. In 1887 the twins entered an Oberrealschule at Frankfurt am Main in preparation for an engineering course in Germany. Instead, in 1891, they immigrated to the United States, where both matriculated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, majoring in civil engineering. After graduating with honors in 1895, receiving B. S. degrees, they became American citizens.
Career
Francois's brother Gerard embarked on a successful career in hydrographic engineering, and François himself in topographic mapping. François's first position was draftsman for the city of Rutland, Vt. , where he made topographic surveys. In 1896 he joined the U. S. Geological Survey, with which he remained for fifty-one years. Initially a topographic assistant, in 1898 he was named party chief to survey the Cloud Peak quadrangle, in the then-trackless Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. Promoted to full topographer (1899), he mapped other challenging areas: the Blackfoot Reservation and the Chief Mountain and Browning quadrangles in Montana; and the Bradshaw Mountains and Jerome quadrangles in Arizona. On the Cloud Peak and Chief Mountain quadrangles, Matthes delineated with consummate artistry alpine landforms resulting from severe glaciation. His work later gave telling impetus to the establishment in 1910 of Glacier National Park. In 1902 Matthes began mapping the scenically remarkable upper half of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, Arizona (now Grand Canyon National Park). Two years of fieldwork produced the Bright Angel and Vishnu quadrangles, maps of surpassing excellence. Matthes spent the academic year 1904-1905 doing graduate work at Harvard in geomorphic studies under William Morris Davis. But he left before receiving a degree to undertake the large-scale (1:24, 000) mapping of the sublime Yosemite Valley. He worked out a system to express in contour lines the overhanging curves and arches of the valley. After two years he produced the exquisite "Yosemite Special" map (1907). The San Francisco earthquake of 1906, which he witnessed, led to a unique assignment: to map the San Andreas Fault in northern California. As inspector of maps (1907 - 1913), he supervised other topographers and also surveyed the southwestern part of Mount Rainier National Park.
Extensive writing and lecturing further contributed to a momentous decision: to devote himself wholly to geomorphology. In 1913 he was transferred to the Geologic Branch of the Survey. Fortuitously, his first geologic assignment was to study the origin of Yosemite Valley. Not until 1930 was his monograph on Yosemite published. It received immediate acclaim as a great classic. To understand Yosemite, Matthes extended his investigations throughout the Sierra Nevada. However, from 1928 to 1934 he was diverted to Mississippi Valley problems. In 1935, happily, he was reassigned to California to Sequoia National Park. Renewed research demonstrated that the great eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada had resulted from early Pleistocene faulting. He considered this discovery his foremost geological contribution. After 1937, demanding organizational responsibilities confined Matthes largely to Washington. While chairing the Committee on Glaciers of the American Geophysical Union (1932 - 1946), he developed a cooperative international program for study of existing glaciers. In 1939 he was drafted as secretary of the International Association of Scientific Hydrology, because of his linguistic versatility. During both world wars, he engaged in military geology. In 1947 Matthes retired and with his wife moved to El Cerrito, Calif. Writing was scarcely resumed when he suffered a heart attack and died at the age of seventy-four. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Yosemite Valley. Matthes was unique in attaining distinction in both topography and geology.
Matthes' marvelous draftsmanship, exemplified by his national park maps, has probably never been equaled. His success stemmed from his keen analysis of landforms and insistent endeavor to comprehend them.
Small stature belied Matthes' remarkable capacity for rugged explorations. He was tenacious and uncompromising, impelled by a tremendous inner drive to achieve his rigorous standards. In style, his writings were distinguished by rare clarity and charm.
Dignified and courteous, he seemed shy and aloof to some, but among kindred spirits he glowed with enthusiasm. Sharing his scientific findings with the public as in the national parks delighted him. He was always mindful of "those who love the mountains, particularly those who come to see, and seeing, wonder and wish to understand. "
Connections
On June 7, 1911, Matthes married Edith Lovell Coyle, a librarian, who became his devoted companion and indefatigable assistant. They had no children.