Gustav Tschermak von Seysenegg (19 April 1836 – 24 May 1927) was an Austrian

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 ...

Biography

He was born in Litovel,

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, and studied at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, where he obtained a teaching degree. He studied

mineralogy 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 ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

and obtained a

PhD 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 ...

. He returned to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

as a lecturer in mineralogy and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and, in 1862 was appointed second vice curator of the Imperial Mineralogical Cabinet, becoming director in 1868. He resigned as director in 1877. He was also professor of

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The clas ...

at the University of Vienna. He was appointed professor in 1873 and a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1882, and a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in 1905. He died in 1927, aged 91.

Work

He did useful work on many minerals 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. The mineral tschermakite is named in his honour. In 1871 he established the ''Mineralogische Mitteilungen'' (Mineralogical Reports), published after 1878 as the ''Mineralogische und petrographische Mitteilungen'' (Mineralogical and Petrographical Reports). His publications include: * ''Die Porphyrgesteine Oesterreichs'' (1869) * ''Die mikroskopische Beschaffenheit der Meteoriten'' (1883) * ''Lehrbuch der Mineralogie'' (1884; 5th ed. 1897
Digital 5th edition
by the

University and State Library Düsseldorf The University and State Library Düsseldorf (, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of the three State Libraries of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

Family

He had two sons, Armin von Tschermak-Seysenegg, professor of physiology, and Erich von Tschermak-Seysenegg, a botanist, who were one of the re-discoverers of Mendel's laws of genetics.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tschermak 1836 births 1927 deaths People from Litovel Moravian-German people Austrian mineralogists Edlers of Austria Geologists from Austria-Hungary University of Vienna alumni Academic staff of the University of Vienna Heidelberg University alumni University of Tübingen alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Meteorite researchers Burials at Döbling Cemetery International members of the American Philosophical Society

Biography

Work

Family

See also

References