Franz Ritter von Hauer, or Franz von Hauer (January 30, 1822 – March 20, 1899), was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Biography

Hauer was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, the son of

Joseph von Hauer Joseph von Hauer (March 6, 1778 Vienna–February 2, 1863 Vienna) was an Austrian finance official, statesman and paleontologist. Life Joseph von Hauer, son of Karl Josef von Hauer, member of the Austrian Imperial War Council, studied law until 17 ...

(1778-1863), who was equally distinguished as a high Austrian official and authority on finance and as a

palaeontologist 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 ...

. He studied

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

at the mining academy of Schemnitz (1839-1843), and for a time was engaged in official mining work in

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

. In 1846, he became assistant to Wilhelm von Haidinger at the mineralogical museum in Vienna; three years later he joined the imperial geological institute, and in 1866 he was appointed director. In 1886, he became superintendent of the

Imperial Natural History Museum The Imperial Natural History Museum or Imperial-Royal Natural History Court Museum of Austria-Hungary was created by (Kaiser) Emperor Franz Joseph I during an extensive reorganization of the museum collections, from 1851 to 1876, and opened to th ...

in Vienna. Among his special geological works are those on the ''

Cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...

a'' of the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

and

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

formations of Alpine regions (1855-1856). he recognized and discovered 89 species and established the Middle and Late Triassic stratigraphical units of deep shelf environments. His most important general work was that of the ''Geological Map of Austro-Hungary'', in twelve sheets (1867-1871; 4th ed. 1884, including

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

). This map was accompanied by a series of explanatory pamphlets. In 1874, he was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. In 1882, he was awarded the

Wollaston medal The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of gold (1831–1845), t ...

by the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. He was also elected as the foreign correspondent of the Geological Society of London. In 1892, von Hauer became a life-member of the upper house ('' Herrenhaus'') of the Austrian parliament. The mineral

Hauerite Hauerite is a manganese sulfide mineral with the chemical formula Mn S2. It forms reddish brown or black octahedral crystals with the pyrite structure and it is usually found associated with the sulfides of other transition metals such as ramber ...

is named after the two von Hauers.

Notes

Publications

*''Beiträge die Paläontolographie von Österreich'' (1858-1859) *''Die Geologie und ihre Anwendung auf die Kenntnis der Bodenbeschaffenheit der Österr.-Ungar. Monarchie'' (1875; ed. 2, 1878).

References

* This work in turn cites: ** ''Memoir'' by Dr. F. Tietze ** ''Jahrbuch der K. K. geolog. Reichsanstalt'' (1899, reprinted 1900, with portrait) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hauer, Franz Ritter von 1822 births 1899 deaths Scientists from Vienna Austrian knights 19th-century Austrian geologists Wollaston Medal winners