Thomas Arthur Rickard

Thomas Arthur Rickard
Born(1864-08-29)August 29, 1864
Crotone, Italy
DiedAugust 15, 1953(1953-08-15) (aged 88)
Oak Bay, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationMining Engineer
SpouseMarguerite Lydia Rickard
ChildrenThomas Jr. (1901–1919)
John (1904–1979)
Parent(s)Thomas Rickard (1834-1916)
Octavia Rachel Forbes (1837-1879)

T. A. Rickard (1864 – 1953), formally known as Thomas Arthur Rickard, was born on 29 August 1864[1] in Italy. Rickard's parents were British, and he became a mining engineer practising in the United States, Europe and Australia. He was also a publisher and author on mine engineering subjects.[2]

Biography

Family and education

Thomas Arthur Rickard was born in Crotone, Italy, the son of Thomas Rickard, a Cornish mining engineer. His grandfather was a Cornish miner, Captain James Rickard.[3] His cousin Tom Rickard was mayor of Berkeley, California at the time of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. He was educated in Russia and England.[2] In 1882 Rickard entered the Royal School of Mines, London from which he graduated in 1885.[1]

Career

  • 1885[1] Assayer, British mining firm, Idaho Springs, Colorado[2]
  • 1886 Assistant Manager, California Gold Mining Co., Colorado[1]
  • 1887 Manager, Union Gold Mine, San Andreas,[1] Calaveras County, California[2]
  • 1889-1891[1] Consultant investigating mines in England and Australia[2]
  • 1891[1] In charge, Silver/Lead[2]/Gold[1] mines, French Alps[2]/Isere district[1]
  • 1892-1893 Investigating mines in Western U.S.A.
  • 1894 Manager, Enterprise Mine, Colorado[1]
  • 1895-1901[1] State Geologist, Colorado - appointed by Governor McIntyre and re-appointed by the next two governors[2]
  • 1897-1898 Consultant investigating mines in Australia and Canada and other work.[1]
  • 1903 Editor-in-chief, Engineering and Mining Journal, New York[1][2]
    • In 1903 W.E. Ford published an article in the American Journal of Science naming a new mineral Rickardite after Rickard.[4]
  • 1905 purchased Mining and Scientific Press, San Francisco[2]
  • 1906-1909[1] Editor, Mining and Scientific Press, San Francisco[1][2]
  • 1909-1915 Founding Editor, Mining Magazine, London[1]
  • 1915-1922 Editor, Mining and Scientific Press, San Francisco[1]
  • 1922-1925 contributing editor, Engineering and Mining Journal, following the amalgamation of Mining and Scientific Press with that Journal[1]
  • 1925- Devoted his time to writing[1]

Death

Rickard died in Oak Bay, British Columbia on 15 August[1] 1953.[2]

Memberships and awards

Published works

  • ‘Minerals which accompany gold and their bearing upon the richness of ore deposits’ Trans I.M.M., vol. 6, 1897-8
  • ‘Cripple Creek goldfield’ Trans I.M.M., vol. 8, 1899-1900
  • A guide to technical writing (1908)[1]
  • 'Across the San Juan Mountains', 1907, Dewey Publishing Company, San Francisco[5]
  • ‘Standardization of English in technical literature’ Trans I.M.M., vol. 19, 1909–10
  • ‘Domes of Nova Scotia’ Trans I.M.M., vol. 21, 1911–12
  • ‘Persistence of ore in depth’ Trans I.M.M., vol. 24, 1914–15
  • ‘The later Argonauts‘ Trans I.M.M., vol. 36, 1926-7
  • ‘Copper mining in Cyprus’ Trans I.M.M., vol. 39, 1929–30
  • ‘Gold and silver as money metal’ Trans I.M.M., vol. 41, 1931-32[1]
  • Man and Metals (1932)[2]
  • A History of American Mining. New York & London: McGraw-Hill (1932)[2][6]: 365 
  • ‘The primitive smelting of copper and bronze’ Trans I.M.M., vol. 44, 1934–35
  • ‘The primitive use of gold’ Trans I.M.M., vol. 44, 1934–35
  • Retrospect (1937) - his autobiography[1]
  • "Indian Participation in the Gold Discoveries." British Columbia Historical Quarterly 2:1 (1938): 3-18[6]: 374 
  • The Romance of Mining. Toronto: Macmillan (1944)[1][6]: 365 
  • Historic Backgrounds of British Columbia. Vancouver: Wrigley Printing (1948)[1][6]: 365 
  • Autumn Leaves. Vancouver: Wrigley Printing (1948)[6]: 365 

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad "Thomas Arthur Rickard". Trans I.M.M. 63: 503–504. 1953–54. Archived from the original on 2019-10-31. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "T. A. Rickard (Deceased 1953)". American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. AIME. Archived from the original on 2019-10-31. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  3. ^ Payton, Philip (2005). The Cornish Overseas: A History of Cornwall's 'great Emigration'. Fowey: Cornwall Editions. p. 388. ISBN 9781904880042. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Rickardite". Mindat.org. Archived from the original on 2019-07-02. Retrieved 1 December 2019. Ford, W.E. (1903) Rickardite, a new mineral. American Journal of Science: 165: 69-70.
  5. ^ Rickard, Thomas (1980). Across the San Juan Mountains. Ouray, Colorado: Bear Creek Publishing Co. p. 130. ISBN 0-941026-03-5.
  6. ^ a b c d e Marshall, Daniel Patrick (2000). Claiming the land: Indians, goldseekers, and the rush to British Columbia (PhD). University of British Columbia. Archived from the original on 2019-12-03. Retrieved 3 December 2019.