Harry Fielding Reid, a student and professor at John Hopkins University, obtained extensive knowledge in the fields of science, geology, and physics to become known for his advances in modern day geology. Prior to the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, Harry Fielding Reid had devoted much of his studies to that of glaciers. His previous knowledge about glaciers and new devotion to earthquakes in 1906 led to his research involving and developing his "elastic rebound theory" released in 1911. This theory explains the gradual accumulation and release of stress and strain in the earth's crust resulting in an earthquake. His research was, and still is, accepted widely based on his sound foundation of support for geological and seismograph research studies supported by a wide range of effects, displacements, tilts, and friction observations (Lawson & Byerly, 1951).