Richard John O’Connell, 73
At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on Dec. 6, 2016, the following Minute was placed upon the records. Professor Richard O’Connell, who arrived at Harvard as Assistant Professor of Geology in 1971 and passed away on April 2, 2015, was a towering figure of post-modern geophysics. Rick’s path to Harvard and science was not linear. He was raised in Montana, where his paternal grandparents had emigrated from Ireland and his grandfather worked as a gold miner. His father was a successful cattle rancher and, for a time, Sheriff of Lewis and Clark County. Rick’s mother, a musician, raised her children during her husband’s long absences and after he was seriously injured in a bull goring. In this challenging environment of hard work, high expectations, and encouragement, a home life that began in the county jail and was centered on the ranch that he returned to throughout his life, Rick...