Franz Ambrosius Reuss (3 October 1761,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

– 9 September 1830, Bilin) was a Czech

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 ...

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 proces ...

and

balneologist Balneotherapy ( la, balneum "bath") is a method of treating diseases by bathing, a traditional medicine technique usually practiced at spas. Since ancient times, humans have used hot springs, public baths and thermal medicine for therapeutic ...

. He was the father of geologist August Emanuel von Reuss. He studied medicine in

and obtained his medical doctorate in 1782. As a student, he developed a strong interest in geology and mineralogy and subsequently visited the ''Bergakademie'' in Freiberg, where he attended lectures given by

Abraham Gottlob Werner Abraham Gottlob Werner (; 25 September 174930 June 1817) was a German geologist who set out an early theory about the stratification of the Earth's crust and propounded a history of the Earth that came to be known as Neptunism. While most ten ...

, a proponent of geological

Neptunism Neptunism is a superseded scientific theory of geology proposed by Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749–1817) in the late 18th century, proposing that rocks formed from the crystallisation of minerals in the early Earth's oceans. The theory took its ...

. Later on, he was hired by Prince Lobkowitz to serve as a spa physician in Bilin, a town in northwestern Bohemia. Here, he conducted investigations of the regions' mineral deposits, that included

orographic Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discip ...

and paragenetic studies of its highlands. He was the author of a number of works on the composition, geology and utilization of mineral resources at Bilin, Franzensbad, Liebwerda,

Teplitz Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The hist ...

, etc. For this, and for his comments made regarding the mining aspects of regional mineral deposits, he was named royal ''Bergrat'' (councilor of mines) in 1808.Reuss, Franz Ambros(ius)
Deutsche Biographie He also conducted extensive mineralogical studies of the regions'

mineral springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...

from a medicinal standpoint. From 1780 he assembled a systematic collection of minerals that was continued by his son, August Emanuel.

Published works

He was the author of a four-volume textbook on mineralogy, ''Lehrbuch der Mineralogie'' (1801-06), in which he gives a total account of Werner's ideas. A few of Reuss's other written efforts are: * ''Orographie des nordwestlichen Mittelgebirges in Böhmen'', 1790 – Orography of the northwestern highlands of Bohemia. * ''Mineralogische Geographie von Böhmen'', (2 volumes) 1793-97 – Mineralogical

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...

of Bohemia. * ''Sammlung naturhistorischer Aufsätze : mit vorzüglichen Hinsicht auf die Mineralgeschichte Böhmens'', 1796. * ''Die Mineralquellen zu Bilin'', 1808 – The mineral springs of Bilin. * ''Die Mineralquellen zu Liebwerda in Böhmen'', 1811 – The mineral springs of Liebwerda.Most widely held works by Franz Ambrosius Reuss
OCLC WorldCat Identities

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reuss, Franz Ambrosius 1761 births 1830 deaths Scientists from Prague Czech mineralogists Czech geologists