John W. Finch

John Wellington Finch (November 3, 1873 – February 19, 1951) was an American mining engineer and the 6th director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines.

Early life John Wellington Finch was born on November 3, 1873, in Lebanon, New York, to Mary Ellen and Deloss L. Finch. He graduated from Colgate University in 1897 with a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree in 1898. He then went to the University of Chicago for graduate studies. He worked as a consulting geologist and engineer for a variety of companies, including the Amalgamated Copper Company, the Anaconda Copper Company, Hayden, Stone & Co., J.P. Morgan & Co., and William Boyce Thompson.

Finch traveled and conducted mining surveys in China, Siam, India, Asia Minor, and Africa between 1916 and 1922. In 1922, Finch was one of ten men to enter the Tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt.

From 1925 to 1929, Finch was a professor of mining geology at the Colorado School of Mines. He resigned from his post in July 1934 to serve as director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. However, the appointment was postponed due to an investigation into his political affiliations with former U.S. President Herbert Hoover being conducted by Postmaster General James Farley. Finch returned back to his post at the University of Idaho.

Finch replaced Scott Turner as the director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines on August 17, 1934.

Personal life Finch married Ethel Ione Woods, the daughter of Dr. Byron A. Woods, a pastor in Philadelphia, on April 10, 1901. Together, they had two daughters: Ione and Nancy.

Death Finch died on February 19, 1951, in Denver.

Awards Finch received a Doctor of Science honorary degree in 1913.