Richard Urquhart Goode


Richard Urquhart Goode was an American geographer. He was born in Bedford, Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia before joining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1877. In 1879, he became a topographer with the newly created United States Geological Survey where he worked until 1879. From 1882-1882, Goode was attached to the Northern Transcontinental Railroad Survey as an engineer and topographer. In 1884 he rejoined the USGS. In 1888, while on a leave of absence from the USGS, Goode served as an engineer and astronomer for the Panama Canal Company. In 1889, he rejoined the Survey as a geographer and was placed in charge of surveys of the Pacific Coast states - California, Oregon, and Washington. He served in that role until his death.
Goode married Sophie J. Parks of Norfolk, Virginia in 1889. They had three children. He was a member of the Washington Academy of Sciences, the National Geographic Society, and the Cosmos Club. From 1901 to 1903, he was the chairman of the Committee on Technical Meetings at the National Geographic Society.

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