George H. Cook

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George H. Cook, LL.D., born in 1818, was a professor of chemistry at Rutgers University in 1853. Cook was notable for his chemical analysis of soil desposits in southern New Jersey. His research allowed him to determine the sources of marl, an agricultural fertilizer. His geological survey of New Jersey in 1840 became the predecessor for the U.S. Geological Survey.

Cook easily gained the confidence of farmers who settled in New Jersey with his lectures about marl as a fertilizer. He served as the Principle of The Albany Academy in Albany, New York from 1851 to 1853. Cook College at Rutgers University is named after him.