Sierra nevada biography

American naturalist and park ranger

Carl William Sharsmith (March 14, 1903 – October 14, 1994) was an American naturalist and Yosemite park ranger, notable for his knowledge and interpretation of the natural history of the Sierra Nevada.

He taught botany at various universities, and was the first botanist to comprehensively document the alpine flora of the high Sierra Nevada.

Biography

Born Karl Wilhelm Schaarschmidt II in New York City to Swiss and German parents, he grew up the U.S., Europe, and Canada. Sharsmith was inspired by the works of naturalist John Muir and became interested in the outdoors and nature.

Journal of Sierra Nevada History & Biography contributers

He dropped out of school at 14, but became inspired enough to finish his high school and college education.

Sharsmith enrolled in the Yosemite School of Field Natural History in 1930 then was hired as a seasonal Ranger-Naturalist in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park the following year.

He received his BA from the University o Jon Burgoyne - Sierra Nevada Corporation | SNC LIWA