Gerhard vom Rath (20 August 1830 – 23 April 1888), was a German

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 ...

, born at Duisburg in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Biography

Rath was educated at

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, at

Bonn University The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Will ...

, and finally at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where he graduated

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1853. In 1856 he became assistant to

Johann Jakob Nöggerath Johann Jakob Nöggerath (also as Johann Jacob Noeggerath) (10 October 1788 – 13 September 1877), German mineralogist and geologist, was born at Bonn. In 1814-1815 he became a commissioner of mines for some of the Rhine provinces, and in 1818 ...

in the

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

ogical museum at

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, and succeeded to the directorship in 1872. Meanwhile, in 1863 he was appointed extraordinary professor of

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

, and in 1872 he became professor of geology and mineralogy in the university at Bonn. He was distinguished for his accurate researches on mineralogy and

crystallography Crystallography is the branch of science devoted to the study of molecular and crystalline structure and properties. The word ''crystallography'' is derived from the Ancient Greek word (; "clear ice, rock-crystal"), and (; "to write"). In J ...

; he described a great many new minerals, some of which were discovered by him, and he contributed largely to our knowledge of other minerals, notably in an essay on

tridymite Tridymite is a high-temperature polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of silica and usually occurs as minute tabular white or colorless pseudo-hexagonal crystals, or scales, in cavities in felsic volcanic rocks. Its chemical formula is sili ...

. He travelled much in southern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and wrote several essays on

petrology Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks, their mineralogy, composition, texture, structure and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous ...

, geology and physical geography, on

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s and on

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

s. He died at

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

in 1888.

Work

Rath published the results of his researches in Poggendorf's ''Annalen der Physik und Chemie'', in the ''Zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft'', and in the ''Monatsberichten'' of the Berlin Academy. Among his own publications were: *''Ein Ausflug nach Kalabrien'' (Bonn 1871) *''Der Monzoni im südlichen Tirol'' (1875) *''Siebenbürgen'' (Heidelberg 1880) *''Durch Italien und Griechenland nach dem heiligen Land'', Reisebriefe (Heidelberg 1882, 2 vols.) *''Arizona'' (Heidelberg 1885) *''Pennsylvanien'' (Heidelberg 1888) *''Über den Granit'' (Berlin. 1878) *''Über das Gold'' (Berlin 1879) *''Naturwissenschaftliche Studien. Erinnerungen an die Pariser Weltausstellung'' (Bonn 1879).

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Gerhard vom 1830 births 1888 deaths Geologists from the Kingdom of Prussia German mineralogists University of Bonn alumni Academic staff of the University of Bonn

Biography

Work

Notes

References

Further reading

External links