Carl Ferdinand von Roemer (5 January 1818 – 14 December 1891),

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

geologist, had originally been educated for the legal profession at Göttingen, but became interested in geology, and abandoning law in 1840, studied science at the University of Berlin, where he graduated Ph.D. in 1842. Two years later he published his first work, ''Das Rheinische Ubergangsgebirge'' (1844), in which he dealt with the older

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

and fossils. In 1845 he paid a visit to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and devoted a year and a half to a careful study of the geology of Texas and other Southern states. He published at Bonn in 1849 a general work entitled ''Texas'', while the results of his investigations of the Cretaceous rocks and fossils were published three years later in a treatise, ''Die Kreidebildungen von Texas und ihre organischen Einschlusse'' (1852), which also included 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 Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

and

mineralogy 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 ...

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 vertebrates of the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

and older rocks. He assisted

H. G. Bronn Heinrich Georg Bronn (3 March 1800 – 5 July 1862) was a German geologist and paleontologist. He was the first to translate Charles Darwin's ''On the Origin of Species'' into German in 1860, although not without introducing his own interpretation ...

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, 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 14 December 1891. His brother,

Friedrich Adolph Roemer Friedrich Adolph Roemer (15 April 1809 – 25 November 1869), 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 ...

, was also a geologist.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roemer, Carl Ferdinand von 1818 births 1891 deaths 19th-century German geologists Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences People from Hildesheim People from the Kingdom of Hanover University of Göttingen alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the University of Bonn Academic staff of the University of Breslau