{{Short description|American geologist (1902–1990)}} {{For|the Australian mineralogist|Charles Anderson (mineralogist)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
'''Charles Alfred''' "'''Andy'''"<ref name="Geo">{{cite journal |last=James |first=Harold L. |title=Memorial to Charles Alfred Anderson (1902–1990) |journal=Memorials of the Geological Society of America |date=1992 |url=https://www.geosociety.org/documents/gsa/memorials/v23/Anderson-CA.pdf |access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref> '''Anderson''' (June 6, 1902{{spnd}}January 9, 1990<ref name="Mineralogist">{{cite journal |last=White |first=Donald E. |title=Memorial of Charles A. Anderson, 1902–1990 |journal=American Mineralogist |volume=76 |issue=1–2 |pages=306–307 |date=1991-02-01 |url=http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM76/AM76_306.pdf |access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref>) was an American geologist and petrographer whose research focused on ore deposits, volcanic geology, and Precambrian terranes. He served as chief geologist of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from 1959 to 1964.<ref name="NYT obit">{{cite news |title=Charles A. Anderson, Geologist, 87 |work=The New York Times |date=January 17, 1990 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/17/obituaries/charles-a-anderson-geologist-87.html |access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref>
==Early life and education==
Anderson was born in Bloomington, California.<ref name="Geo" /> He graduated from Pomona College in 1924 with a degree in geology and received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1928.<ref name="Geo" /><ref name="Mineralogist" /> His doctoral work examined copper deposits in Plumas County, California.<ref name="Geo" />
==Academic career==
Following completion of his doctorate, Anderson joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught for fourteen years and attained the rank of associate professor by 1942.<ref name="Geo" /><ref name="NYT obit" /> His early research concentrated on volcanic rocks of northern California, including studies of the Tuscan Formation, Glass Mountain, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and related volcanic breccias.<ref name="Geo" />
==United States Geological Survey==
In 1942, during World War II, Anderson joined the USGS Strategic Minerals Program.<ref name="Geo" /> His early assignments included studies of molybdenum deposits and detailed investigations of the porphyry copper deposit at Bagdad, Arizona.<ref name="Geo" /> He later conducted extensive research on the massive sulfide deposits at Jerome, Arizona, contributing to broader syntheses of the Precambrian geology of central Arizona.<ref name="Geo" />
In 1952 he became assistant chief of the USGS Mineral Deposits Branch and in 1953 was appointed chief of that branch.<ref name="Geo" /> In 1959 he was appointed chief geologist of the Survey’s Geologic Division, serving until 1964.<ref name="NYT obit" /><ref name="Geo" /> During his tenure he supported the development of isotope geology, marine geology, and lunar research programs within the Survey.<ref name="Geo" />
After completing his term as chief geologist, Anderson returned to field research in Arizona and later worked in Menlo Park, California. He retired from the USGS in 1972.<ref name="NYT obit" /><ref name="Geo" />
==Honors and legacy==
Anderson was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1956 and to the National Academy of Sciences in 1957.<ref name="Geo" /><ref name="NAS">{{cite web |title=Charles A. Anderson |url=https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/charles-a-anderson-hptziz/ |website=National Academy of Sciences |access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref> He served as vice president (1959) and president (1968) of the Society of Economic Geologists and was awarded its Penrose Medal in 1974.<ref name="Geo" /> Pomona College awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1960.<ref name="Geo" />
The uranium carbonate mineral andersonite, first identified at Jerome, Arizona, was named in his honor in recognition of his contributions to mineral resource geology.<ref name="Geo" /><ref name="NYT obit" />
Anderson died on January 9, 1990, in Pomona, California, of Alzheimer’s disease.<ref name="NYT obit" /><ref name="Geo" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Charles Alfred}} Category:20th-century American geologists Category:United States Geological Survey personnel Category:1902 births Category:1990 deaths Category:Pomona College alumni Category:UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni Category:University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:People from San Bernardino County, California