Smithsonians National Museum of Natural History
Which employer did George Switzer (mineralogist) work for between Jan 1948 and May 1948?
George Switzer ( mineralogist ) George Shirley Switzer ( June 11 , 1915 – March 23 , 2008 ) was an American mineralogist who is credited with starting the Smithsonian Institutions famed National Gem and Mineral Collection by acquiring the Hope Diamond for the museum in 1958 . Switzer made the arrangements when renowned New York City jeweler Harry Winston decided to donate the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian . Switzer was also known for his analysis of moon rocks which were brought back by NASA missions to the Moon . Today , the National Gem and Mineral Collection at the National Museum of Natural History currently contains more than 15,000 individual gems in the collection , as well as 350,000 minerals and 300,000 samples of rock and ore specimens . Additionally , the Smithsonians National Gem and Mineral Collection houses approximately 35,000 meteorites , constituting what is considered to be one of the most comprehensive collections of its kind in the world . Early life . George Switzer was born in Petaluma , California on June 11 , 1915 . He was the son of Albert and Charlotte Ryan Switzer . Switzer first attended Santa Rosa Junior College before earning his bachelors degree from the University of California , Berkeley in 1937 . He then obtained his masters degree in mineralogy from Harvard University in 1939 . He continued at Harvard and earned his doctorate from the University in 1942 . He worked as a professor both at Stanford University from 1939 to 1940 , and at Harvard University from 1940 to 1945 . Switzer tried to enlist in the United States military during World War II , but a recruiter reportedly told him that his years of education could be put to better use elsewhere . So during the war , he also worked as a crystallographer for Majestic Radio & TV Corp. , where he worked keeping aircraft radio frequencies up and running . Smithsonian . Switzer first joined the staff of the Smithsonians National Museum of Natural History in 1948 . He initially worked as an associate curator of the museums Division of Mineralogy and Petrology , a position which he held from 1948 until 1964 . He was later promoted to Chairman of the Smithsonians Department of Mineral Sciences from 1964 to 1969 . He remained at the Smithsonian as the curator emeritus until 1975 . Switzer was a major force behind the museums research division . He applied for and received a grant from NASA , which allowed the Smithsonian to obtain an electron probe micro-analyzer for minerals during the 1970s . The micro-analyzer allows scientists to determine the origin of a given mineral . From 1972 until 1973 , Switzer and other mineralogists used the micro-analyzer to examine samples of rock from the Moon which were brought back by the crews of the Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 missions . The U.S . military had hoped to find diamonds , plutonium and uranium in the samples . Instead , Switzers analysis showed that the Moon had never had either an atmosphere similar to Earths or water on its surface . Switzers research put the National Museum of Natural History at the forefront of geology . Switzer also worked with other scientists to identify and name five minerals , which were all new to science , during his career . In his honor , three prominent mineralogists - Peter B . Leavens , John S . White and Pier F . Zanazzi - proposed naming a mineral after Switzer . The mineral in question consisted of pale brown crystals , composed of manganese phosphate , and was first discovered in North Carolina . In 1967 the International Mineralogical Association approved the name designation switzerite , in honor of George Switzer . Switzer later served as director of research for the Gemological Institute of America and as a U.S . Geological Survey mineralogist . Hope Diamond . Switzer , who was working as an associate curator at the time , first approached jeweler Harry Winston about donating the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian for a proposed national gem collection to be housed at the museum . Winston had purchased the Hope Diamond , which has been nicknamed the King of Diamonds , in 1949 from the estate of Evalyn Walsh McLean , whose father had become wealthy during the gold rushes of the 1800s . Winston was persuaded by Switzers argument , and agreed to his proposition . He donated the , blue Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1958 . Winston mailed the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian wrapped in brown paper . The postage to send the Hope Diamond from New York City to its new home at the Smithsonian cost $145.29 . Winstons wife , Edna Winston , later more formally presented the blue diamond to Switzer and Leonard Carmichael , the secretary of the Smithsonian at the time , on November 10 , 1958 . The Hope Diamond was placed on display , surrounded by a pendant of 16 white diamonds on a necklace containing over 45 other white diamonds . The acquisition of the Hope Diamond by the Smithsonian , ...started the national collection. , according to Sorena Sorensen , the current chairwoman of the Smithsonians mineral sciences department . Sorensen also stated that , The idea for the national collection at the Smithsonian was a collaboration between Harry Winston and George ( Switzer ) . Switzer reportedly began to wonder if there was some truth to the supposed Hope Diamond curse during a trip with the Diamond to the Louvre for the Ten Centuries of French Jewelry exhibition in April 1962 . The Smithsonian had determined that secrecy was the best defense against the potential theft of the Hope Diamond . Switzer traveled to Paris with the Hope Diamond inside a velvet pouch , which had been specially sewn by his wife , Sue . The Hope Diamond was placed inside the pouch and then pinned inside Switzers pants pocket . Switzers plane , Pan American Flight 116 , which was supposed to fly first from Baltimore Friendship Airport , with several refueling stops , and continuing onto Paris , made a hard landing in Philadelphia , which nearly tore the planes wing off . ( Please note that some reports state that the hard landing was actually made in Pittsburgh , so there is some discrepancy. ) Switzers next flight arrived in Paris nearly nine hours late on the day that the Hope Diamond was supposed to go on exhibition . Switzers car then got into a minor fender bender while traveling from the airport to the Louvre . Retirement . George Switzer retired from the Smithsonian in 1975 as the curator emeritus . He used his retirement to pursue his hobby , azalea propagation . His hobby became a serious occupation when he served as the director of the Azalea Society of America and became assistant editor of the Azalean publication . He was credited with describing and naming a new variety of azalea cultivar , Nannie Angell , in 1992 . Switzer authored a textbook on gemology in 1979 . Death . George Switzer died in Solomons , Maryland at the Hermitage at St . Johns Creek assisted living facility , at the age of 93 on March 23 , 2008 . The cause of his death was pneumonia . He was a resident of Port Republic , Maryland at the time , and had formerly lived in Bethesda , Maryland . Switzer was survived by his wife , Sue Joan Bowden Switzer , to whom he had been married for 68 years , as well as his two sons , eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren .