Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in t ...
– February 3, 1889 in Messina) was an Italian naturalist and
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 ...
.
Early life
Giuseppe Seguenza was born on June 8, 1833, in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Because his father expected him to follow in his footsteps and become a
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
, Seguenza studied under his father, who also owned his own pharmacy.
Later, Seguenza chose to study the
geological
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...
and
mineralogical
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 p ...
sciences.
Scientific research
At the age of 23, Giuseppe Seguenza discovered that all the products of the emanations of
Vulcano
Vulcano ( scn, Vurcanu) or Vulcan is a small volcanic island belonging to Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about north of Sicily and located at the southernmost end of the seven Aeolian Islands. The island is known for its volcanic activity and ...
(one of the
Aeolian Islands
The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named afte ...
) contained
arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, b ...
compounds. Afterward, he published other scientific works that earned him the attention of scholars in Europe and the silver medal at the Paris Exposition.
He was appointed Professor of Natural History at the Maurolico School, then the Technical Institute of Messina, and finally earned a professorship at the University of Messina.
There followed other work around the metalliferous deposits of Fiumedinisi, land and fossils of the territory of Messina, and Calabria, which were awarded and published at his own expense by the Royal Academy of the Lincei.
In 1868 he introduced the Zanclean stage to define the early part of the
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58sea snails, known as '' Seguenzia'' (family Seguenziidae), was named in his honor.
Family and legacy
Giuseppe Seguenza died at the age of 58 and his son, Luigi Seguenza, continued forward his work. Luigi is known for having defined the taxonomy for '' Calliotropis'', a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of sea snails.
One of the three science high schools in Messina, ''Liceo Scientifico G. Seguenza'', is named after Giuseppe. The museum of modern people of ''Nizza di Sicilia'' is also dedicated to him.
Selected works
* ''Disquisizioni paleontologiche intorno ai corallarii fossili delle rocce terziarie del distretto di Messina'', 1863.
* ''Paleontologia malacologica dei terreni terziarii del distretto di Messina'', 1865.
* ''Le formazioni Terziarie nella Provincia di Reggio (Calabria)'', 1877 – Tertiary formations in the Province of Reggio Calabria.
* ''Studi geologici e paleontologici sul cretaceo medio dell'Italia meridionale'', 1878 – Geological and paleontological studies on the
Middle Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of t ...