Thomas Condon

Who was Thomas Condon?

Thomas Condon was an Irish Congregational minister, geologist, and paleontologist who gained recognition for his work in the U.S. state of Oregon.

Condon arrived in New York from Ireland in 1833 and graduated from theological seminary in 1852, after which he traveled to Oregon by ship. As a minister at The Dalles, he became interested in the fossils he found in the area. He found fossil seashells on the Crooked River and fossil camels and other animals along the John Day River. Many of his discoveries were in the present-day John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. He corresponded with noted scientists, including Spencer Baird of the Smithsonian, Edward Cope of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Joseph Leidy, O.C. Marsh, and John C. Merriam, and provided specimens to major museums.

Condon was appointed the first State Geologist for Oregon in 1872. He resigned that post to become first professor of geology at the University of Oregon. Previously he was a teacher at Pacific University in Forest Grove.