A daguerreotype portrait of Parker Cleaveland (1780-1858), a professor at Bowdoin College, known as the "Father of American Mineralogy."

Cleaveland achieved an international reputation in the scientific community for his 1816 book Elementary Treatise on Mineralogy and Geology, the first American publication on the subject. Originally from Byfield, Massachusetts, Cleaveland graduated from Harvard in 1799 and taught mathematics there until he joined the Bowdoin College faculty in 1805. In addition to math, Cleaveland gave courses in chemistry, geology, and medicine.

When he died at age 78, having taught for 53 years, the college estimated that he had taught more than 2,000 students.