Joseph LeConte - Legacy

Legacy

In 1874, he was nominated to the National Academy of Sciences. He was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1892, and of the Geological Society of America in 1896. LeConte is also noted for his exploration and preservation of the Sierra Nevada of California, USA. He first visited Yosemite Valley in 1870, where he became friends with John Muir and started exploring the Sierra. He became concerned that resource exploitation (such as sheepherding) would ruin the Sierra, so he co-founded the Sierra Club with Muir and others in 1892. He was a director of the Sierra Club from 1892 through 1898. His son, Joseph N. LeConte, was also a noted professor and Sierra Club member.

He died of a heart attack in the Yosemite Valley, California, on July 6, 1901, right before the Sierra Club's first High Trip. The Sierra Club built the LeConte Memorial Lodge in his honor in 1904. The Le Conte Glacier, Le Conte Canyon, Le Conte Divide, Le Conte Falls and Mount Le Conte were named after him. LeConte College at the University of South Carolina, Le Conte Middle School in Hollywood, LeConte Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, Le Conte Avenue in Berkeley, and Le Conte Avenue bordering the south of UCLA were also named after him. He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.