page_title: George Switzer (mineralogist)
section_title: Smithsonian
hierarchical_section_title: George Switzer (mineralogist) / Smithsonian
caption_attribution_description: National Mall entrance to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Photo taken by Kmf164 in March 2001.
context_page_description: George Shirley Switzer was an American mineralogist who is credited with starting the Smithsonian Institution's 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 Smithsonian's 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.
context_section_description: Switzer first joined the staff of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in 1948. He initially worked as an associate curator of the museum's Division of Mineralogy and Petrology, a position which he held from 1948 until 1964. He was later promoted to Chairman of the Smithsonian's 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 museum's 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, Switzer's analysis showed that the Moon had never had either an atmosphere similar to Earth's or water on its surface. Switzer's 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.
caption: The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
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