Ferdinand von Roemer
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
geologist, had originally been educated for the legal profession at Göttingen, but became interested in geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, and abandoning law in 1840, studied science at the University of Berlin, where he graduated Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1842.
Two years later he published his first work, Das Rheinische Ubergangsgebirge (1844), in which he dealt with the older rocks
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
and fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s. In 1845 he paid a visit to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and devoted a year and a half to a careful study of the geology of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and other Southern states. He published at Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
in 1849 a general work entitled Texas, while the results of his investigations of the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
rocks and fossils were published three years later in a treatise, Die Kreidebildungen von Texas und ihre organischen Einschlusse (1852), which included also a general account of the geology, and gained for him the title Father of the geology of Texas.
Subsequently he published at Breslau Die Silurische Fauna des westlichen Tennessee (1860). During the preparation of these works he was from 1847 to 1855 privatdocent at Bonn, and was then appointed professor of geology, palaeontology and mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
in the University of Breslau, a post which he held with signal success as a teacher until his death.
As a palaeontologist he made important contributions to our knowledge especially of the vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s of the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
and older rocks. He assisted H. G. Bronn
Heinrich Georg Bronn
Heinrich Georg Bronn was a German geologist and paleontologist.Bronn was born at Ziegelhausen near Heidelberg. Studying at the university of Heidelberg he took his doctor's degree in the faculty of medicine in 1821, and in the following year was appointed professor of natural history...
with the third edition of the Lethaea geognostica (1851-56), and subsequently he labored on an enlarged and revised edition, of which he published one section, Lethaea palaeozoica (1876-1883). In 1862 he was called on to superintend the preparation of a geological map of Upper Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, and the results of his researches were embodied in his Geologie von Oberschlesien (3 vols., 1870). As a mineralogist he was likewise well known, more particularly by his practical teachings and by the collection he formed in the Museum at Breslau. He died at Breslau on the 14th of December 1891.
His brother, Friedrich Adolph Roemer
Friedrich Adolph Roemer
Friedrich Adolph Roemer , German geologist, was born at Hildesheim, in the Kingdom of Westphalia.His father was a lawyer and councillor of the high court of justice. In 1845 he became professor of mineralogy and geology at Clausthal, and in 1862 director of the School of Mines...
, was also a geologist.