Merrill Addison Stainbrook
1897-1956
Stainbrook was born in Brandon, Iowa on February 27th 1897. He was the youngest of six children in a farming family, and attended school locally. Around the age of three he lost sight in one eye after an accident, however this did not impact his career in academia. Stainbrook only spent around three years at Brandon La Porte City high school before enrolling at the University of Iowa. He completed his BA in geology in four years graduating in 1921. During his undergraduate years Stainbrook enlisted in the medical corps and served in Europe during World War 1. After graduation Stainbrook enrolled in the geology graduate program at the University of Iowa and received his MS after only one year of study in 1922.
While working on his PhD, Stainbrook was a research assistant in the geology department from 1922 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1927 he taught zoology at he University of Tennessee. He completed his PhD in geology under the supervision of professor A.O. Thomas in 1927. The title of his dissertation was, "The brachiopoda of the Cedar Valley beds of the Iowa Devonian." After receiving his degree, Stainbrook accepted an assistant professor position at the Texas Technological Institute; he was later promoted to associate professor in 1934 and full professor in 1940. Throughout his professional career Stainbrook studied the paleontology of the Cedar Valley Limestone and Independence Shale of Iowa, regularly returning to Iowa from Texas during the summer and collecting samples. In 1948, Stainbrook retired from Texas Tech and moved back to Iowa citing his poor health.
While in academia, Stainbrook was elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America, was a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Iowa Academy of science, Paleontological Society, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists. After his retirement and return to Iowa he became an active member of the Odd Fellows, the Rebecca’s, became a 32nd degree Mason, American Legion member, led local boy scout troops, and occasionally worked at the Iowa Geological Survey. Plagued by health problems after his retirement, Merrill Stainbrook died in Iowa on July 11th, 1956.