McGill Library
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Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Collett, John, 1828-1899
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1828-1899
History
John Collett was born on January 6, 1828, in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
In 1847, he graduated from Wabash College with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1870, he was elected to the State Senate from Parke and Vermillion Counties. In politics, he was first a Whig and then a Republican. Senator Collett spearheaded a bill to make public drunkenness a crime, supported holding livestock owners responsible for their cattle and pigs running loose, and promoted gravel roads when many of Indiana’s roadways were still morasses of mud in the winter and spring. He also strove to make children’s education mandatory, build a state mental hospital, and provide homes for orphans. Though he was a widely renowned expert on rocks, fossils, and Hoosier landforms, Collett wasn’t appointed State Geologist until 1879. In 1883, he produced the first geological map of Indiana ever published. His scientific investigations helped Indiana become the greatest limestone-producing state in the U.S. and were also useful to coal miners and engineers.
He died on March 15, 1899, in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana.