16 VISIT OR GUIDE P enrose Room and Library Ric hard AF P enrose Jr GS A s iconic benefactor who donated to the S ociety more than 4 million on his death in 1 931 w as a sw ashbuc kling geologist and shrewd in vestor in mining stoc ks He w as born into a wealth y family and at tended Harvard graduating at age 23 with a PhD He served on the faculty at the Uni ver sity of Chicago where he g ained muc h practical experience in feld and mining geology In 1 903 he cofounded the Utah Copper Compan y now par t of K ennecot t to develop the ric h Bingham Can yon copper deposits This w as the primary basis of his for tune Af ter his father s death in 1 908 P enrose dev oted himself almost entirely to in vestments and c harities He w as well respected among geologists and w as president of GS A in 1 930 P enrose joined the S ociety in 1 889 less than a year af ter its founding and served as its president in 1 930 the year before his death This room holds man y pieces of furniture from P enrose s original offce The desk is made of Uru guayan mahog an y The bookcases and drawer s for maps are also mahog an y and built to P enrose s