Gottfried Ludwig Theobald (21 December 1810 in Allendorf – 15 September 1869 in Chur) was a German-Swiss

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 ...

and

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the universities of

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

and

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...

, then served as a curate in

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

. Being dissatisfied with this line of work, he focused his attention towards natural sciences and eventually worked as a tutor in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

. From 1843 he taught classes at a secondary school in Hanau, and in 1852 relocated to

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

as a teacher in a private school. From 1854 up until his death, he taught classes in sciences at the cantonal school in Chur.Theobald, Gottfried Ludwig
Historischen Lexikon der Schweiz His geological research was largely centered on the mountains of the canton of Graubünden, of which he produced highly detailed geological maps. He also provided geological descriptions of Swiss mineral springs; such as those at Tarasp,

St. Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

, Alvaneu,

Rothenbrunnen Rothenbrunnen (''Giuvaulta'' in romansh) is a municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History Rothenbrunnen is first mentioned in 1472 as ''Hof Juvalt''. In 1572 it was mentioned as ''zum Roten Brunnen''. Geogra ...

and Passugg, as well as descriptions of the springs at Bormio in Italy. He was the author of over 100 writings, many of them containing detailed geological descriptions and maps. These were published in various magazines, most notably in the annual reports of the

Swiss Alpine Club The Swiss Alpine Club (german: Schweizer Alpen-Club, french: Club Alpin Suisse, it, Club Alpino Svizzero, rm, Club Alpin Svizzer) is the largest mountaineering club in Switzerland. It was founded in 1863 in Olten and it is now composed of 111 s ...

(1866–70) and the proceedings of the Swiss Society for Natural Sciences. His natural history collections formed a foundation for the Rätisches Museum in Chur. The

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

species ''Didymodon theobaldii'' ( Pfeff., 1867) commemorates his name.

Selected works

* ''Das Bündner Oberland; oder, Der Vorderrhein mit seinen seitenthälern'', 1861 – The Bündner Oberland region; the

Vorderrhein The Vorderrhein (German; English: ''Anterior Rhine''; Sursilvan: ; Sutsilvan: ''Ragn Anteriur''; Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader, and Puter: ''Rain Anteriur''; Surmiran: ''Ragn anteriour'') is one of the two sources of the Rhine. Its catchment area ...

with its valleys. * ''Naturbilder aus den Rhätischen Alpen : Ein Führer durch Graubünden'', 1862 – Nature photos from the Rhaetian Alps: A guide to Graubünden. * ''Geologische Beschreibung der nordoestlichen Gebirge von Graubünden, mit zwei Karten und Druchschnitten'', 1863 – Geological description of the northeastern mountains of Graubünden. * ''Geologische Beschreibung der in den Blättern X und XV des Eid. Atlasses enthalt. Gebirge von Graubunden'', 1863 – Geological description of sheets X and XV of the Eid. atlas containing the mountains of Graubunden. * ''Bormio und seine Bäder'', 1865 – Bormio and its spas. * ''Die südöstlichen Gebirge von Graubünden und dem angrenzenden Veltlin'', 1866 – The southeastern mountains of Graubünden and the neighboring

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...

. * ''Landschaftsbilder, Bergfahrten und naturwissenschaftliche Skizzen'', 1868 – Landscapes, mountain trips and scientific sketches.Most widely held works by G Theobald
OCLC WorldCat

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theobald, Gottfried Ludwig 1810 births 1869 deaths People from Hanau University of Marburg alumni University of Halle alumni 19th-century Swiss geologists Swiss cartographers People from Chur