Happy 100th Birthday, Gilbert White!

Gilbert White was known as "the father of floodplain management." As a scientist and a Quaker, he devoted much of his life to research that blended his concerns about water policy, human welfare, and world peace. November 26, 2011, is the 100th anniversary of his birth (Dr. White died in 2006). In July of 2011, the city of Boulder dedicated the Gilbert White Memorial Flood Level Marker on the banks of Boulder Creek.

This video includes footage of the elegant flood level marker, of the Big Thompson Flood, and of Gilbert White reflecting, in 2001, on the impact of the Big Thompson Flood and on the role that he played in developing Boulder's flood management plan.

Gilbert White famously said, "Floods are acts of God, but flood losses are largely acts of man." Our thanks to Dr. White for helping people worldwide to make gains in minimizing those losses. (From the Boulder Library's Oral History Collection)

Category:

Science & Technology

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• boulderlibrary
• MROHHP
• Gilbert White
• oral history
• water