Franz Ambrosius Reuss (3 October 1761 – 9 September 1830) was a Czech

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

and

balneologist Balneotherapy ( "bath") is a method of treating diseases by bathing, a traditional medicine technique usually practiced at spas. Since ancient times, humans have used hot springs, public baths and thermal medicine for therapeutic effects. While ...

. He was the father of geologist

August Emanuel von Reuss August Emanuel Rudolph von Reuss (8 July 1811 – 26 November 1873) was an Austrian geologist and palaeontologist. Biography Reuss was born on 8 July 1811 in Bílina, Bohemia. He was the son of Franz Ambrosius Reuss (1761–1830) and the father ...

Biography

Reuss was born on 3 October 1761,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. He studied medicine in

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

and obtained his medical doctorate in 1782. As a student, he developed a strong interest in geology and mineralogy and subsequently visited the ''Bergakademie'' in Freiberg, where he attended lectures given by

Abraham Gottlob Werner Abraham Gottlob Werner (; 25 September 174930 June 1817) was a German geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chem ...

, a proponent of geological

Neptunism Neptunism is a superseded scientific theory of geology proposed by Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749–1817) in the late 18th century, who proposed that rocks formed from the crystallisation of minerals in the early Earth's oceans. The theory took ...

. Later on, he was hired by Prince Lobkowicz to serve as a spa physician in

Bílina Bílina (; ) is a town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It is known for its destination spa, spas and as a source of the strongly mineralized water, Bílinská kyselka. The ...

in northwestern Bohemia. Here, he conducted investigations of the regions' mineral deposits, that included

orographic Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology,'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader disc ...

and paragenetic studies of its highlands. He was the author of a number of works on the composition, geology and utilization of mineral resources at Bílina,

Františkovy Lázně Františkovy Lázně (; ) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,600 inhabitants. Together with neighbouring Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně, it forms the West Bohemian Spa Triangle. Th ...

, Libverda,

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

, etc. For this, and for his comments made regarding the mining aspects of regional mineral deposits, he was named royal ''Bergrat'' (councilor of mines) in 1808.Reuss, Franz Ambros(ius)
Deutsche Biographie He also conducted extensive mineralogical studies of the regions'

mineral springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underg ...

from a medicinal standpoint. From 1780, he assembled a systematic collection of minerals that was continued by his son, August Emanuel. Reuss died on 9 September 1830, Bílina, at the age of 68.

Published works

He was the author of a four-volume textbook on mineralogy, ''Lehrbuch der Mineralogie'' (1801-06), in which he gives a total account of Werner's ideas. A few of Reuss's other written efforts are: * ''Orographie des nordwestlichen Mittelgebirges in Böhmen'', 1790 – Orography of the northwestern highlands of Bohemia. * ''Mineralogische Geographie von Böhmen'', (2 volumes) 1793–97 – Mineralogical

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

of Bohemia. * ''Sammlung naturhistorischer Aufsätze : mit vorzüglichen Hinsicht auf die Mineralgeschichte Böhmens'', 1796. * ''Die Mineralquellen zu Bilin'', 1808 – The mineral springs of Bilin. * ''Die Mineralquellen zu Liebwerda in Böhmen'', 1811 – The mineral springs of Liebwerda.Most widely held works by Franz Ambrosius Reuss
OCLC WorldCat Identities

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reuss, Franz Ambrosius 1761 births 1830 deaths Scientists from Prague Czech mineralogists Czech geologists 18th-century scientists from the Holy Roman Empire Scientists from the Austrian Empire