Colonel James D. Stevenson (1840–1888) was an American administrator and researcher who served as an executive officer of the United States Geological Survey. A self-taught polymath, Stevenson made contributions to several scientific fields during the late nineteenth century, working actively as an ethnologist, anthropologist, geologist, and naturalist.\n\nThroughout his career, Stevenson conducted extensive geological surveys across the American West, mapping and studying the terrains of Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. In addition to his geological endeavors, he dedicated much of his career to documenting Indigenous cultures. He collected cultural artifacts and information extensively among the Zuni and Hopi tribes, and also compiled valuable documentation on the Ute and Arapaho peoples.
