Adam August Krantz (6 December 1808 in
Neumarkt in Schlesien – 6 April 1872 in
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 ...
) 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 ...
.
Krantz, Adam August
Mineralienatlas - Fossilienatlas
Life
In 1833 he founded a mineral dealership in 1833 in Freiberg
Freiberg () is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and ...
while a student at Freiberg Mining Academy
The Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (abbreviation: TU Bergakademie Freiberg, TUBAF) is a public university of technology with 3,471 students in the city of Freiberg, Saxony, Germany. The university's focuses are exploration, mining ...
. In 1836 the company moved to Brüderstraße 39 in Berlin. The next move was to 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 ...
in 1850. August Kranz became one of the foremost mineral dealers in Europe.
August Krantz's son-in-law, Theodor Hoffmann ran the business following Krantz's death in 1872. Hoffmann sold Krantz's
own collection of over 14,000 mineral specimens to the Mineralogisches Museum der Universität Bonn :de:Mineralogisches Museum der Universität Bonn and ran the dealership until 1888, assisted by the mineralogist Carl Hintze.
August's nephew, Friedrich Ludwig Robert Krantz (1859–1926) joined the Krantz firm in 1888 and managed it from 1891 changing the name from "A. Krantz" or "Dr. A, Krantz" to "Dr. F. Krantz and later to "Dr. F. Krantz, Rheinisches Mineralien-Kontor". In 1926 his widow Olga took charge of the business, with her nephew, Fritz Krantz. Fritz had worked for Ward's Natural Science Establishment in Rochester U.S.A. In 1974 Fritz Krantz transferred the dealership to his daughter Renate Krantz.
Image:Euchroite-oldeuro-03f.jpg, Euchroite from Ľubietová label
Image:Euchroite-oldeuro-03e.jpg, Euchroite from Ľubietová label
Image:Monazite-(Ce)-231260.jpg, Bonn label
Apophyllite-Epistilbite-Chabazite-220554.jpg, Label of a specimen from Japan
References
Further reading
*Krantz, R. (1984) 150 Jahre Firma Dr. Krantz.Die älteste deursche Mineralien-Handlung. ''Der Präparator'', 30, no.1, p. 221-226. Bochum.
*Fitz, O. (1993) Eine Sammlung Erzählt; Beitrage zu Inhalt und Geschichte der Mineralien- und Gesteinssammlung an der Abteilung Baugeologie des Institutes für Bodenforschung und Baugeologie, Universität für Bodenkultur, Wien. Sonderheft 1, ''Mitteilungen des Institutes für Bodenforschung und Baugeologie, Universität für Bodenkultur'', Wien, 80 p.
*Spencer, L. J. (1927) Biographical notices of mineralogists recently deceased. ''Mineralogical Magazine'', 21, 239–240.
External links
Kranz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krantz, August
German mineralogists
People from Åšroda ÅšlÄ…ska
1872 deaths
1808 births
Geologists from the Kingdom of Prussia