Ruy Herbert Finch (August 30, 1890 – March 25, 1957)[1] was an American volcanologist who served as second director of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) from 1940 to 1951.
[4] In 1951, a group of scientists including Finch were named in the journal Science as "outstanding authorities in their respective fields".
[8][9] In 1926, Finch moved to Mineral, California[1]—from that time until 1935, he founded and directed a seismograph station near Lassen Peak, after which he was transferred to Hawaiʻi National Park.
[6] While Thomas A. Jaggar was starting the observatory, he began a newsletter called The Volcano Letter, a publication on volcanology.
When Jaggar retired in 1940 and Finch took over as director, he became editor of the Letter,[13] which later went on to be reprinted by Richard S. Fiske, Tom Simkin, and Elizabeth A. Nielsen as editors—Simkin was also an author of the book Volcanoes of the World.