William Ashburner
1831 - 1887
William Ashburner was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and grew up there. He was educated in Europe as a mining engineer. He did most of his work in California during the Gold Rush.
He was a member of the California Geological Survey in the 1860s.
In 1863, Frederick Law Olmsted took up the post as manager of the Mariposa gold mine. He employed Ashburner at the mine on the recommendation of Josiah Dwight Whitney, the California state geologist. Olmsted became a close friend.
Ashburner lived in San Francisco and became a professor of mining and regent of the University of California and a trustee of Stanford University.
The Mariposa mine was played out, and Olmsted was looking for a new project. Ashburner helped to bring the park designer to San Francisco. Along with Frederick Billings, another business acquaintance from the Mariposa Mine, Ashburner circulated a pro-park petition in 1865. In these ways, Ashburner played a role in the creation of San Francisco's park system.
Ashburner was the uncle of Harvard Professor Charles Eliot Norton.
He was a member of the California Geological Survey in the 1860s.
In 1863, Frederick Law Olmsted took up the post as manager of the Mariposa gold mine. He employed Ashburner at the mine on the recommendation of Josiah Dwight Whitney, the California state geologist. Olmsted became a close friend.
Ashburner lived in San Francisco and became a professor of mining and regent of the University of California and a trustee of Stanford University.
The Mariposa mine was played out, and Olmsted was looking for a new project. Ashburner helped to bring the park designer to San Francisco. Along with Frederick Billings, another business acquaintance from the Mariposa Mine, Ashburner circulated a pro-park petition in 1865. In these ways, Ashburner played a role in the creation of San Francisco's park system.
Ashburner was the uncle of Harvard Professor Charles Eliot Norton.