Moritz Alphons Stübel (26 July 1835 – 10 November 1904) was a German
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, alt ...
and
naturalist.
Biography
He studied
chemistry and
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 ...
at the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
. With geologist
Wilhelm Reiss
Wilhelm Reiss (13 June 1838 – 29 September 1908) was a German geologist and explorer born in Mannheim. Along with Angel Escobar, he was the first person to scale Cotopaxi (1872), and with vulcanologist Alphons Stübel, he was the first to ...
(1838–1908), he conducted geological and volcanological research in the Andes—Colombia and Ecuador—from 1868 to 1874. Afterwards the two geologists continued their research in Peru and Brazil, with Reiss returning to Germany in 1876 and Stübel continuing his travels throughout the continent: Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia – returning to Germany in August 1877.
In South America, he also made
astronomical
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, ...
measurements and performed
meteorological
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
,
ethnographical
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subjec ...
,
zoological
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...
, and
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
research. Scientific material collected in South America was later preserved at the Museum of Comparative Cultures in Leipzig. In addition, Stübel took numerous photographs and created sketches of the places he visited. Many of the butterflies collected by Stübel were new species. They were described by German
entomologists
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...
Gustav Weymer
Gustav Weymer (1833–1914) was a German entomologist.
He described many new taxa of butterflies from specimens collected by Alphons Stübel
in South America.
His own collections and those he worked on are conserved in Museum für Naturk ...
and
Peter Maassen
Peter Maassen, also J. Peter Maassen (9 December 1810 – 2 August 1890), was a German entomologist born in Duisburg.
He originally intended to be a member of the clergy, but ultimately spent more than 35 years as an employee (later as superint ...
.
Stübel also made a lesser known contribution to the study of the Middle East. In the years 1858, 1882, and 1890, he traveled mainly in Syria, Lebanon,
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...
, and Egypt. He collected about 600 large-size photographs on these journeys and at other occasions. This collection came via his nephew, Bruno Stübel, to the
University of Jena
The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
The un ...
. They form the core of the "Alphons-Stübel Collection of Early Photographs of the Middle East 1850–1890".
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stubel, Alphons
1835 births
1904 deaths
German entomologists
19th-century German geologists
German mineralogists
German naturalists
German volcanologists
Leipzig University alumni
Scientists from Leipzig