George Perkins Merrill was born on May 31, 1854, in Auburn, Maine.

He was an American geologist and author. He studied at the University of Maine (B.Sc., 1879; M.Sc., 1883; Ph.D., 1889) and worked as an assistant in chemistry at Wesleyan University, Connecticut (1879–1880). In 1881, he was appointed to the Department of Geology of the U. S. National Museum and soon became its assistant curator. In 1897, he was appointed a head curator and stayed in this position until his death. In 1922, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences and was awarded the J. Lawrence Smith gold medal of the Academy for his researches on meteorites. In 1917, he received the honorary degree of Sc. D. from George Washington University. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the Washington Academy of Sciences (president 1906-1907), the Geological Society of America (vice-president 1920), the Maryland Academy of Sciences, and many other scientific organizations. He published numerous papers and books on the field of his study. He is also considered a historian of North American geology.

In 1883, he married Sarah Farrington (1858-1894), and in 1900, he married Katherine Lulaia Yancey (1876–1973). He died on August 15, 1929, in Auburn, Maine.