physician, poet, geologist, b. Kensington, Conn. He graduated from Yale Medical Institute (M.D., 1820), and practiced medicine in Charleston, S.C., for several years. Although relatively unknown today, Percival published several volumes of poetry, and for a time was considered to be an outstanding poet and linguist. In 1827 and 1828 he assisted Noah Webster in revising his dictionary. He was also interested in geology, and made a detailed geological survey of Connecticut (1835-1842), which was issued as Report on the Geology of the State of Connecticut (1842). A Whig, he took an active part in the political campaign of 1840 by writing the New Haven Whig Song Book. Moving to Wisconsin in 1853 to explore the lead region for the American Mining Co., he was subsequently appointed state geologist (1854), but died in Hazel Green, shortly after issuing his first report. Dict. Amer. Biog.; J. H. Ward, Life and Letters of T. G. Percival (Boston, 1866); Colls. State Hist. Soc. Wis., 3 (1857).

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the James Gates Percival Papers for details. See also the Papers Concerning Percival.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]