Vincent P. Gianella was born at Marysville, California, on February 9, 1886 to parents of Italian and Irish descent, and he spent his boyhood on ranches in that vicinity. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree at Oregon State College in 1910, a Master of Science degree at the University of Nevada in 1920, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree at Columbia University in 1937. Gianella served on the teaching faculty at the Mackay School of Mines at the University of Nevada from 1923 to 1952. A mark of the esteem in which his colleagues held him is the naming of a mineral in his honor; the mercury mineral Gianellaite was described and named in 1972.

Early in his professional career, Dr. Gianella worked in a number of mining camps in Treadwell, Alaska; Fairview and Tonopah, Nevada, and Jerome and Douglas, Arizona. He describes some of these places from the vantage point of a trained observer. Dr. Gianella first came to Nevada in 1912; his enthusiasm for Nevada and for Nevada geology are well known. He is a recognized authority on the Comstock Lode and was fortunate to have been able to examine most of the underground mines in the lode as well as the Sutro tunnel when these were still accessible in the 1920s and 1930s. Dr. Gianella's descriptions of the Comstock Lode and other mining districts in Nevada—Eureka, Copper Canyon, Pioche—will be of interest to persons concerned with both geology and Nevada history.

Dr. Gianella's other interests include beekeeping, earthquakes, the activities of former students, mineralogy, and western history. His research concerning John C. Fremont's travels through Nevada started about 1919. It reflects the meticulous approach of a person trained in the use of topographic maps and recognition of geologic features as described in old journals. It also reflects the extensive traveling he has done in search of Fremont's routes.