I found the differing resource emphasis from Powell, Hayden, and King interesting. Below is King's biography.
In "It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own" White discusses King's tasks in the U.S. Geological Survey which he surveyed mineral deposits to benefit the growth of mining corporations.
Clarence King was born at Newport, Rhode Island in 1842 to a prosperous family. For generations his family had been involved in the sea as makers of navigational tools, captains, and traders. His uncles and father, James, were engaged in the China trade. During the Opium Wars when they were forced to return home, James proposed to childhood friend 15-year-old Caroline Florence Little and they were married the next year.
King studied geology by reading Dana's new Manual of Geology, attending lectures at Yale, and going to Harvard to hear Agassiz lecture. He also did field work along the Hudson River. It was during this time that King and his friends formed "The Society for the Advancement of Truth in Art."
Once in California, King met Brewer and Whitney and volunteered to work on the California Geological Survey with them. King returned to Washington D.C. to convince congress to finance the expedition, which they did. King became the leader of the survey. This in turn was so successful that Clarence King became the first director of the new United States Geological Survey in 1879. More will be told about King's geological work in the next section
King resigned his work in 1881 at the USGS after two years. His resignation from the USGS signaled his withdrawal from the scientific world and his entrance into a life fraught with failure. He was unsuccessful in several mining adventures including his stint with the Anglo-American Mining Company in 1883 as a consultant
The rest of King's life was beset by faulty mining ventures, extravagance, and poor mental and physical health. In 1893 King was arrested for disturbing the peace and was put into a mental institution, the Bloomingdale Asylum. After his release, he resumed his travels and spent a lot of time helping to solve mining disputes
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