User:Cool3/Selected biography/3

George Babcock Cressey (December 15, 1896 - October 21, 1963) was an American geographer, author, and academic. Born in Tiffin, Ohio, he attended Denison University and then the University of Chicago, where he received a PhD in geology. After receiving his degree, he taught at Shanghai college and traveled widely in China. Upon his return to the United States in 1929, he completed a pioneering book on the country, China's Geographic Foundations. In 1931, Cressey received a second PhD from Clark University in geography. He then joined the faculty of Syracuse University, where he remained for the rest of his professional career. At Syracuse, Cressey wrote on a variety of subjects, but focussed on "population problems as related to the worldwide distribution of land and arable resources," and primarily studied Asia, though he traveled to 75 countries on six continents (all but Australia), over the course of his career. Cressey also served as chair of the department and helped to develop the geography graduate program at Syracuse into one of the best in the country. (more...)