Caswell Silver (June 25, 1916 – October 18, 1988) was an American geologist and entrepreneur who was President of Sundance Oil Company from 1960 to 1984. In addition to the business of oil and gas exploration, he was active in the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and published original research on petroleum geology. He endowed the Caswell Silver Foundation at the University of New Mexico.
Silver was born in New York City and grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut as the next to youngest of four brothers and a sister.[1] After first enrolling at the University of Connecticut in 1934, for reasons of health he headed west and ultimately enrolled at the University of New MexicoinAlbuquerque, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1940 with a major in geology and mathematics.
He went to work for the US Geological Service, mapping silver mining districts in the San Juan MountainsofColorado. He subsequently served as an assistant topographic and hydrographic engineer with the United States Coast and Geodetic SurveyinCape Fear, North Carolina.[2]
Silver joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 and served three years in the Photo Interpretation Branch of the Naval Intelligence in the South PacificinGuadalcanal and Hawaii, attaining the rank of Lieutenant.[2]
After the War, Silver returned to the University of New Mexico, where he completed a master's degree in geology. "Silver always said that he chose a master's degree program in geology rather than in physics, which he also loved, because he liked to gamble".[3]
Making his home in Albuquerque, Silver worked as a consultant in gas exploration and development, and eventually became an independent operator while also being a consultant on oil and gas exploration and precious metals mining.
Silver also conducted research, joined the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), and became a fellow of the Geological Society of America. He published several scientific papers, and in 1952 co-authored a book with Vincent C. Kelley on “The Geology of the Caballo Mountains”. He helped to found the New Mexico Geological Society in 1947 and served as its president in 1957–58.[4][5]
In 1959 Silver moved with his family to Denver, Colorado, where he had purchased a controlling interest in Sundance Oil Company, a Utah company. At the time, Sundance was earning small royalties and had no full-time employees. Over the next 24 years, serving as President of the company, Silver built Sundance into an independent oil and gas exploration company, discovering and developing fields in Colorado, Nebraska and, in 1971, Alberta, Canada. Over the years, the company's stock exchange listing moved from the Salt Lake Stock and Mining Exchange, to the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, to the American Stock Exchange.
Silver continued to publish research and remained active in the AAPG and other professional associations. In 1980 he was a founding trustee of the Geological Society of America Foundation.[6]
In June 1984, Silver resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board of Sundance. He sold all of his family's interests in the company.[7]
In 1980 Caswell and his wife Elizabeth established the Caswell Silver Foundation as a 501c3 endowment at the University of New Mexico. This Foundation is administered by the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences,[8] and supports visiting professorships, graduate fellowships, undergraduate research, and lectures by distinguished scholars.[9]
Caswell married Elizabeth Silver (née Bauserman) on August 5, 1936, and they had two daughters, Anne Silver and Sue Silver Harivandi.[14] Elizabeth Silver died in Santa Fe on July 3, 2009, at the age of 93.[15]
Caswell Silver was a brother of Caltech geologist Leon Silver (who also served on the Caswell Silver Foundation board), and a great-uncle of statistician-journalist Nate Silver. Caswell Silver is buried in Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, New Mexico.[15]
This biography draws substantially on the testimonial by Silver's long-time colleague Nolan Ashburn, published in the bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists: Nolan Ashburn. “Memorial to Caswell Silver, 1916-1988,” AAPG Bulletin, 1989, Vol. 73, No. 5.