Joseph Le Conte (February 26, 1823 - July 6, 1901) was born in Liberty County, Georgia. He received an M.D. degree from the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1845. After four years of practicing medicine, he entered Harvard University and studied natural history under Louis Agassiz. After graduating from Harvard, he taught at Oglethorpe University, Franklin College and South Carolina College. In 1869, Le Conte moved to the University of California, Berkeley, where he remained the rest of his life, teaching mainly in geology. In 1870 he visited Yosemite Valley and became friends with John Muir. Concerned about resource exploitation, Le Conte and Muir with others founded the Sierra Club in 1892. Le Conte died while visiting Yosemite Valley. Le Conte and his wife Caroline Nisbet, had four children.

Joseph Le Conte (February 26, 1823 - July 6, 1901) was born in Liberty County, Georgia. He received an M.D. degree from the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1845. After four years of practicing medicine, he entered Harvard University and studied natural history under Louis Agassiz. After graduating from Harvard, he taught at Oglethorpe University, Franklin College and South Carolina College. In 1869, Le Conte moved to the University of California, Berkeley, where he remained the rest of his life, teaching mainly in geology. In 1870 he visited Yosemite Valley and became friends with John Muir. Concerned about resource exploitation, Le Conte and Muir with others founded the Sierra Club in 1892. Le Conte died while visiting Yosemite Valley. Le Conte and his wife Caroline Nisbet, had four children.

Excerpt from The Autobiography of Joseph Le Conte In justice to Professor Le Conte and to the reader a few words are necessary as to the origin of the following book and the respective parts of the author and the editor in its preparation. During the illness of his daughter in California in 1900 Professor Le Conte had many long talks with her about his early experiences and was by her urged to write out an account of them for his family. He was then too busy preparing for a trip abroad to undertake the work; but later in the year, in his old home in Columbia, S. C., whither he had gone from New York to recuperate from a severe illness that interfered with his plan of visiting Europe, his thoughts reverted to her request, and in this period of enforced leisure he began to write his reminiscences. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Autobiography of Joseph Le Conte is the recollections of Georgia-born Confederate scientist Joseph Le Conte.

In 1870, LeConte embarked on a five-week horseback trip to Yosemite Valley and the High Sierra with a party that included other University of California students and faculty. The group would soon start a campaign to establish today’s Yosemite National Park and to promote more recreational use of the Sierra. Some of this group’s members were also responsible for urging the founding of the Sierra Club in 1892, with LeConte himself serving as director of the club for several years. A prolific author on a wide array of subjects, LeConte died during a 1901 Sierra Club excursion in Yosemite.