By Jaime Kautsky

Frederick H. Pough (1906-2006) was the first to describe brazilianite, a mineral he discovered on a trip to South America in the 1940s. PHoto by Fabian Bachrach/Courtesy of Barbara H.P. Moore.

The 99-year-old mineralogist and former curator of the American Museum of Natural History enjoyed what he referred to in a 1984 speech as "a reasonably long involvement with minerals."

"I have been fortunate enough to have bridged a span of enough years to have known many of the older giants of mineralogy," he said.

Pough was born on June 26, 1906 in Brooklyn, New York and was considered a giant of the field in his own right. He earned a B.S. degree in geology from Harvard University in 1928 and began his award-winning career after graduating with an M.S. in geology from Washington University in St. Louis two years later.

The young Pough became fluent in German and proficient in French and Spanish when he studied in Heidelberg, Germany under the tutelage of renowned crystallographer Victor Goldschmidt. He returned to Harvard and earned his Ph.D. in mineralogy in 1935.

Pough went on to conduct field exploration for the United States government in South America in the 1940s; there, he discovered a greenish-yellow phosphate gem mineral and named it brazilianite in honor of the country of its origin.

He worked for the American Natural History Museum in New York from 1935 to 1953, rising from the position of an assistant to curator of mineralogy and physical geology, and served as director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History from 1964 to 1967. Pough authored hundreds of articles for trade publications including JCK magazine and Lapidary Journal, where he served as a contributing editor for several decades.

Despite his considerable accomplishments, Pough maintained a humorous perspective about his contributions to the field. His curriculum vitae begins with "consulting mineralogist and geologist, author, lecturer," followed by "raconteur, irascible curmudgeon, bon vivant and gourmet."

"Fred Pough was one of a kind," said gemologist Dona M. Dirlam, director of GIA's Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center. "He was sharp-eyed, sharp-tongued and sharp-witted."

"And, he was incredibly foresighted," Dirlam said. "He was an early pioneer in irradiating gem diamonds, and was among the first to collect synthetic gemstones. He donated many of the synthetic gems – along with boxes of photographs, slides, research notes and personal correspondence – to GIA."

Pough is survived by a son and daughter, their spouses, a brother and three grandchildren.