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Christian Gottlieb Ferdinand Ritter von Hochstetter (30 April 1829 – 18 July 1884) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
-
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
.


Career

Having received his early education at the evangelical seminary at
Maulbronn Maulbronn () is a city in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. History Founded in 1838, it emerged from a settlement, built around a monastery, which belonged to the Neckar Community in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In ...
, Ferdinand proceeded to the
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...
and the
Tübinger Stift The Tübinger Stift () is a hall of residence and teaching; it is owned and supported by the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg, and located in the university city of Tübingen, in South West Germany. The Stift was founded as an Augus ...
; there, under
Friedrich August von Quenstedt Friedrich August von Quenstedt (July 10, 1809 – December 21, 1889), was a German geologist and palaeontologist. Life Von Quenstedt was born at Eisleben in Saxony, and educated at the Humboldt University of Berlin. After a period as assistant ...
, the interest he already felt in
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...
became permanently fixed, and he obtained his doctor's degree and a travelling scholarship. In 1852 he joined the staff of the Imperial Geological Survey of Austria and was engaged until 1856 in parts of
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, especially in the
Bohemian Forest The Bohemian Forest, known in Czech as Šumava () and in German as Böhmerwald, is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from Plzeň Region and South Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria ...
, and in the Fichtel Hills and Karlsbad mountains. His excellent reports established his reputation. Thus he came to be chosen as geologist to the
Novara expedition SMS ''Novara'' was a sail frigate of the Austro-Hungarian Navy most noted for sailing the globe for the Novara Expedition of 1857–1859 and, later for carrying Archduke Maximilian and wife Carlota to Veracruz in May 1864 to become Emperor an ...
(1857–59), and made numerous valuable observations in the voyage round the world. The Novara arrived in New Zealand on 22 December 1858. Almost immediately he met the German scientist
Julius von Haast Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (1 May 1822 – 16 August 1887) was a German-born New Zealand explorer, geologist, and founder of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. Early life Johann Franz Julius Haast was born on 1 May 1822 in Bo ...
who had also recently arrived in New Zealand, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. Polymath Arthur Purchas convinced von Hochstetter to stay in New Zealand, where he spent the next nine months of his life. In 1859, Ferdinand was employed by the
government of New Zealand , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...
to make a first geological survey of the islands. His survey of old Lake Rotomahana and the Pink and White Terraces provides the only primary evidence of the Terrace locations today. Between 2016 and 2020, his survey diary was reverse engineered to provide the coordinates of the Pink, Black and White Terraces. On his return he was appointed in 1860 professor of
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...
and geology at the Imperial-Royal Polytechnic Institute in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
; from 1874 to 1875 he was the rector there. His analysis of the tsunami generated by the 1868 Arica (Peru) earthquake is well known for its contribution to understanding of tsunami propagation. The resulting tsunami caused damaging surges in a number of regions in the Pacific region, including fatalities on the
Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about t ...
. Von Hochstetter, charted the trajectory of the event throughout the Pacific. This also enabled an estimate of the depth of the Pacific Ocean to be calculated. In 1872 he became the natural history tutor of
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria en, Rudolph Francis Charles Joseph , caption = Rudolf in 1887 , spouse = , issue = Elisabeth Marie, Princess Otto of Windisch-Graetz , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Franz Joseph I of Austria , mother ...
. In 1876 he was made superintendent of the Imperial Natural History Museum. In these later years he explored portions of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
and eastern
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, and he published papers on a variety of geological,
palaeontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
and mineralogical subjects. In 1869, he was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
and in 1884 was granted a hereditary knighthood by the Emperor of Austria. Detailed descriptions in his diaries were helpful in 2011, when researchers managed to locate the silica terraces on Lake Rotomahana, which was buried in the
1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera In 1886, a violent eruption occurred at Mount Tarawera, near the city of Rotorua on New Zealand's North Island. At an estimated Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5, the eruption is the largest and deadliest in New Zealand during the past 500 years, ...
.


Personal life

He was born at Esslingen,
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...
, the son of
Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter (16 February 1787 – 20 February 1860) was a German botanist and Protestant minister. Biography Hochstetter was born in Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg. He was the father of geologist Ferdinand Hoc ...
(1787–1860) and his second wife, Sophie Orth. Christian Ferdinand was a clergyman and Professor at Bonn, who was also a
botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
and
mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...
. In 1861 von Hochstetter married Georgiana Bengough, daughter of John Egbert Bengough, an Englishman who was director of the Vienna city gasworks. They went on to have eight children. A good deal is known of his personal life through his documented correspondence with friend and colleague
Julius von Haast Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (1 May 1822 – 16 August 1887) was a German-born New Zealand explorer, geologist, and founder of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. Early life Johann Franz Julius Haast was born on 1 May 1822 in Bo ...
He died in
Oberdöbling Oberdöbling (Central Bavarian: ''Obadöbling'') was an independent municipality until 1892 and is today a part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. It is also one of the 89 Katastralgemeinden. Geography Oberdöbling lies in the south of ...
near Vienna, at age 55 from complications of diabetes.


Legacy

The Geoscience Society of New Zealand hold an annual lecture named in von Hochstetter's honour.


Taxonomy

New Zealand's endemic Hochstetter's frog, ''Leiopelma hochstetteri'', is named after Ferdinand. Several other species bear his name in their
scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...
s, including the Takahe, ''Porphyrio hochstetteri'', and ''
Powelliphanta hochstetteri ''Powelliphanta hochstetteri'', known as one of the amber snails, is a species of large, carnivorous land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae. Distribution This species is endemic to the Marlborough and Ne ...
'', a species (with five subspecies) of New Zealand's giant carnivorous land snails.


Geography

Hochstetter Peak on Trinity Peninsula in
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
is named after Hochstetter, as are New Zealand's Mount Hochstetter (
West Coast Region The West Coast ( mi, Te Tai Poutini, lit=The Coast of Poutini, the Taniwha) is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island that is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. ...
), Lake Hochstetter and the Hochstetter Dome and Hochstetter Icefall close to the Tasman Glacier.


Geology

The rock type
dunite Dunite (), also known as olivinite (not to be confused with the mineral olivenite), is an intrusive igneous rock of ultramafic composition and with phaneritic (coarse-grained) texture. The mineral assemblage is greater than 90% olivine, w ...
was named by Ferdinand von Hochstetter in 1859, after
Dun Mountain Dun Mountain is a mountain in the Richmond Range near the city of Nelson in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island. It is located between the catchments of the Pelorus, Maitai and Roding Rivers. The mountain is named for its brown (D ...
near
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
.Johnston, M. R.; ''Nineteenth-century observations of the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt, Nelson, New Zealand and trans-Tasman correlations,'' Geological Society, London, Special Publications 2007, v. 287, p. 375-387
/ref>


Publications

* ''Karlsbad, seine geognostischen Verhältnisse und seine Quellen'' (1858) * ''Neu-Seeland'' (1863); published in English as

* ''Geological and Topographical Atlas of New Zealand'' (1864) * ''The geology of New Zealand: in explanation of the geographical and topographical atlas of New Zealand'' (1864

* ''Über das Erdbeben in Peru am 13. August 1868 und die dadurch veranlassten Fluthwellen im Pacifischen Ocean, namentlich an den Küsten von Chili und von Neu-Seeland (1868). * ''Leitfaden der Mineralogie and Geologie'' (with A Bisching) (1876, ed. 8, 1890).


See also

*
European and American voyages of scientific exploration The era of European and American voyages of scientific exploration followed the Age of Discovery and were inspired by a new confidence in science and reason that arose in the Age of Enlightenment. Maritime expeditions in the Age of Discovery were ...


Notes


References

*


External links

* *
Teara.govt.nz: Te Ara biography of Ferdinand von Hochstetter

Teara.govt.nz: Te Ara article "Ferdinand von Hochstetter" (1966)


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hochstetter, Ferdinand von 19th-century Austrian geologists 19th-century German geologists 1829 births 1884 deaths Academic staff of TU Wien University of Tübingen alumni Austrian knights People from the Kingdom of Württemberg People from Esslingen am Neckar