Ulysses S. Grant IV

Ulysses Simpson Grant IV (May 23, 1893 – March 11, 1977) was an American geologist and paleontologist notable for his research on fossil mollusks of the California Pacific Coast. He was the son of Ulysses S. Grant Jr. and was a grandson of President Ulysses S. Grant and Senator Jerome B. Chaffee.

Grant was born at his father's farm, Merryweather Farm, located in Salem Center, Westchester County, New York. His birth date was May 23, 1893. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California.

In terms of education, Grant studied geology at Harvard University, where he graduated cum laude in 1915. After completing his undergraduate studies, he engaged in gold mining activities in Mexico. During World War I, Grant enlisted in the United States Army, starting as a private and attaining the rank of second lieutenant by the end of the war.

Following his military service, Grant was involved with the New York Stock Exchange from 1919 to 1925. In 1926, he enrolled in graduate courses at the University of California, Berkeley. He continued his graduate studies at Stanford University starting in 1927, focusing on paleontology. He completed his Ph.D. in 1929.

After obtaining his doctorate, Grant worked as the curator of invertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. He began teaching paleontology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1931. Grant progressed from instructor to chair of the geology department, a position he held for eight years, until his retirement in 1959. Throughout his academic career, he authored several scientific papers and frequently collaborated with Leo George Hertlein, a classmate from Stanford.

In 1953, Grant appeared as a contestant on the television program "You Bet Your Life," hosted by Groucho Marx. His appearance involved a consolation question related to historical burials.

Grant died on March 11, 1977, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, due to lung failure caused by leukemia. He was interred at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego, alongside his father.

His personal life included a marriage to Matilda Bartikofsky on October 4, 1917, in Spartanburg, South Carolina; the couple later divorced. In 1950, he married Frances Dean, born circa 1911 in Kentucky. She passed away on December 8, 1991, in Honolulu, Hawaii. They did not have children.

Grant's relatives included his cousin, Major General Ulysses S. Grant III, the son of Major General Frederick Dent Grant.

His notable publications include "Catalogue of the Marine Pliocene and Pleistocene Mollusca of California and Adjacent Regions and a Special Treatment of the Pectinidae and Turridae" (1931), and several works on the geology and paleontology of San Diego, often co-authored with Leo George Hertlein. Other publications cover topics such as the geology and oil possibilities of southwestern San Diego County, Cenozoic brachiopoda of North America, and reports on his travels, including "A Sojourn In Baja California, 1915" (1963).

External resources related to Grant include photographs of California from the 1920s held by the San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library.