Antoine François Alfred Lacroix (February 4, 1863 – March 12, 1948) was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 mineralogist and geologist

Geologist

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...

. He was born at Mâcon

Mâcon

Mâcon is a small city in central France. It is prefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department, in the region of Bourgogne, and the capital of the Mâconnais district. Mâcon is home to over 35,000 residents, called Mâconnais.-Geography:...

, Saône-et-Loire

Saône-et-Loire

Saône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...

.

He took the degree of D. s Sc. in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, 1889, as student of Ferdinand André Fouqué

Ferdinand André Fouqué

Ferdinand André Fouqué was a French geologist and petrologist.He was born at Mortain, in the Manche département....

. Fouqué only agreed to the graduation if Lacroix would marry his daughter. In 1893 he was appointed professor of mineralogy at the Jardin des Plantes

Jardin des Plantes

The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...

, Paris, and in 1896 director of the mineralogical laboratory in the École des Hautes Études.

He paid especial attention to mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

s connected with volcanic phenomena and igneous rock

Igneous rock

Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...

s, to the effects of metamorphism

Metamorphism

Metamorphism is the solid-state recrystallization of pre-existing rocks due to changes in physical and chemical conditions, primarily heat, pressure, and the introduction of chemically active fluids. Mineralogical, chemical and crystallographic changes can occur during this process...

, and to mineral veins, in various parts of the world, notably in the Pyrenees

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

. In his numerous contributions to scientific journals he dealt with the mineralogy and petrology

Petrology

Petrology is the branch of geology that studies rocks, and the conditions in which rocks form....

 of Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

, and published an elaborate and exhaustive volume on the eruptions in Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

, La Montagne Pele et ses éruptions (1904).

He also issued an important work entitled Mineralogie de la France et de ses Colonies (1893-1898), and other works in conjunction with Auguste Michel-Lévy

Auguste Michel-Lévy

Auguste Michel-Lévy was a French geologist. He was born in Paris.He became inspector-general of mines, and director of the Geological Survey of France. He was distinguished for his researches on extrusive rocks, their microscopic structure and origin; and he employed the polarizing microscope...

. He was President of the volcanology section (1922-1927) of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics

International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics

The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the scientific study of the Earth using geophysical and geodesic techniques. The IUGG was established in 1919. Some areas within its scope are environmental preservation, reduction of the effects of...

 (IUGG). He was elected member of the Académie des sciences in 1904. He was awarded the Penrose Medal

Penrose Medal

The Penrose Medal was created in 1927 by R.A.F. Penrose, Jr. as the top prize awarded by the Geological Society of America to those who advance the study of geoscience.-Award winners:* 2011 Paul F. Hoffman* 2010 Eric J. Essene* 2009 B. Clark Burchfiel...

in 1930.