Douglas Ramsay Semmes

1892-1976
 
The son of an Episcopal clergyman, Douglas R. Semmes was born in Alexandria, Virginia. He was educated at the University of Virginia and earned his Ph.D. in geology from Columbia. He taught at Texas A & M and the University of Alabama and was the author of several reports on oil and gas possibilities in Alabama. He later became a consulting geologist working in Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, India, Canada and much of the southwestern United States. He settled in San Antonio.

Dr. Semmes was president of the Sarnosa Oil Corporation, a Fellow of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and president of the South Texas Geological Society. He was a member of Sigma Xi, American Association for Advancement of Science, American Geographic Society and Texas Academy of Science. 

Semmes Foundation, Inc. was established on July 21, 1952 to support  “religious, charitable, scientific, and educational purposes.” Early grants were modest.