Georg Gürich
Encyclopedia
Georg Julius Ernst Gürich (Dobrodzień
, German
: Guttentag; Upper Silesia
, 25 September 1859 – August 1938) was a German geologist, paleontologist and university teacher, who wrote on Paleozoic
geological formations in Poland and ranged through Guinea
, Tanzania
and Southern Africa
(at the time German colonies), in search of unrecorded new species.
Georg Gürich studied geology in Breslau/Wroclaw (1884–1891, Ph.D. 1882). In 1885, he first went to Africa, participating in a German scientific expedition to Nigeria
and travelled in the western Sudan (1885), and in South-West Africa, now Namibia
(May 1888 to January 1889), mostly in the western mountains from Otjitambi to Rehoboth, to do geological research on behalf of the "Southwest African Gold Syndicate" (Südwestafrikanisches Goldsyndikat), with the aim of exploring alleged deposits of gold. The gold did not materialise, but his published geographical account Deutsch-Südwestafrika. Reisebilder aus den Jahren 1888 und 1889 contains substantial additional information on the current political and social conditions in Namibia. In the following years, he travelled widely in Europe, Australia, Venezuela and Alaska and returned to Africa. In 1910 he became Director of the Geological Institute at the Hamburg Colonial Institute (later part of the University of Hamburg
) He followed up his paleontological research on Namibia, with another field trip in 1928, resulting in many scientific publications.
He retired in 1934, and died in Berlin.
Dobrodzien
Dobrodzień is a town in Olesno County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,168 inhabitants .Both names in Polish and German mean "Good day". The name Guttentag is an archaic variant of standard German Guten Tag...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Guttentag; Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
, 25 September 1859 – August 1938) was a German geologist, paleontologist and university teacher, who wrote on Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
geological formations in Poland and ranged through Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
(at the time German colonies), in search of unrecorded new species.
Georg Gürich studied geology in Breslau/Wroclaw (1884–1891, Ph.D. 1882). In 1885, he first went to Africa, participating in a German scientific expedition to Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and travelled in the western Sudan (1885), and in South-West Africa, now Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
(May 1888 to January 1889), mostly in the western mountains from Otjitambi to Rehoboth, to do geological research on behalf of the "Southwest African Gold Syndicate" (Südwestafrikanisches Goldsyndikat), with the aim of exploring alleged deposits of gold. The gold did not materialise, but his published geographical account Deutsch-Südwestafrika. Reisebilder aus den Jahren 1888 und 1889 contains substantial additional information on the current political and social conditions in Namibia. In the following years, he travelled widely in Europe, Australia, Venezuela and Alaska and returned to Africa. In 1910 he became Director of the Geological Institute at the Hamburg Colonial Institute (later part of the University of Hamburg
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
) He followed up his paleontological research on Namibia, with another field trip in 1928, resulting in many scientific publications.
He retired in 1934, and died in Berlin.