Benjamin Franklin Shumard

Benjamin Franklin Shumard (November 24, 1820 – April 14, 1869) was an American physician and geologist. He served as a doctor in Kentucky, then worked for about 15 years as a geologist. He conducted geological surveys in several states (Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Wisconsin) before being appointed in 1858 as the State Geologist of Texas. He organized the first major Texas Geological Survey. In 1860, an assistant state geologist named the Shumard oak species in his honor. On the heels of a political struggle over his appointment, Shumard moved back to Missouri during the Civil War and resumed his medical career there.