George Switzer
Male, Deceased Person
1915 – 2008
Who was George Switzer?
George Shirley Switzer was an American mineralogist who is credited with starting the Smithsonian Institution's famed National Gem and Mineral Collection by acquiring the Hope Diamond for the museum in 1958. Switzer made the arrangements when renowned New York City jeweler Harry Winston decided to donate the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian.
Switzer was also known for his analysis of moon rocks which were brought back by NASA missions to the Moon.
Today, the National Gem and Mineral Collection at the National Museum of Natural History currently contains more than 15,000 individual gems in the collection, as well as 350,000 minerals and 300,000 samples of rock and ore specimens. Additionally, the Smithsonian's National Gem and Mineral Collection houses approximately 35,000 meteorites, constituting what is considered to be one of the most comprehensive collections of its kind in the world.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Jun 11, 1915
Petaluma - Education
- University of California, Berkeley
- Harvard University
- Employment
- Stanford University
- Harvard University
- Lived in
- Bethesda
- Died
- Mar 23, 2008
Solomons
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"George Switzer." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/biography/george-switzer/m/0408hxf>.
Discuss this George Switzer biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In