Robert B. Marshall

1867-1949

Robert B. Marshall
  • Chief Geographer of the U.S. Geological Survey. Sierra Club charter member and activist.
  • In his role with the USGS, Marshall was an early supporter of National Parks before the establishment of the National Park Service.
  • He also proposed the concept of a statewide water plan for a series of dams, canals and aqueducts to bring water to California's Central Valley. As a result of his 1919 Marshall Plan, he earned the nickname of "Father of the Central Valley Project."
  • This Robert B. Marshall is not related to The Wilderness Society co-founder Robert Marshall (1901 - 1939). (off-site link to The Wilderness Society)
  • He indicated that he had a "long and intimate" relationship with John Muir, writing, "My appreciation, feelings, respect and love for my friend Muir are all of the heart, and so intense and sacred that I cannot tell them even to my friends."
  • A tribute to John Muir by Robert B. Marshall, from Sierra Club Bulletin, John Muir Memorial Number, Vol. 10, No. 1 (January, 1916).