[1] In 1854, he entered the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard University; after a year he traveled to Berlin to study at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität; he then transferred to the Georg-August-Universität in Göttingen, receiving a Ph.D. in 1857.
[1] After making a tour of Europe, Kimball returned to the United States to become an assistant to Harvard University geology professor Josiah Whitney.
[1] As Whitney's assistant, Kimball participated in the geological surveys of the lead mining regions of Wisconsin, Illinois, and southeastern Iowa.
[1] With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, the college's president, Maj. M. R. Patrick was appointed Brigadier-General of Volunteers; Kimball became Brig.
After his marriage in 1874, he became an honorary professor of Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa. and relocated there, while his professional office remained in New York City.