Karl Johann Bernhard Karsten (26 November 1782 – 22 August 1853) was a German

mineralogist 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 proce ...

known for contributions made to the German

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

industry.

Biography

He was born at

Bützow Bützow is a town in the district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany, centered on Bützower See. History The town was first mentioned in 1171. From 1815 to 1918 Bützow was part of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwe ...

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hous ...

and initially studied law in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

. From 1801 he devoted his time to mining and metallurgy. In 1819 he was named mining councilor to the Ministry of the Interior in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. He was a major factor in the emergence of the

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

industry in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. He was author of several comprehensive works, including: * ''Handbuch der Eisenhüttenkunde'' (2 volumes, 1816; 3rd edition, 1841). * ''System der Metallurgie, geschichtlich, statistisch, theoretisch und technisch'' (5 volumes, with atlas, 1831-1832). * ''Lehrbuch der Salinenkunde'' (2 volumes, 1846-1847). He was well known as editor of the ''Archiv für Bergbau und Hüttenwesen'' (Archive for mining and metallurgy; 20 volumes, 1818-1831); and (with

Ernst Heinrich Karl von Dechen Ernst Heinrich Karl von Dechen (25 March 180015 February 1889) was a German geologist. He was born in Berlin, and was educated at the University of Berlin. He subsequently studied mining in Bochum and Essen, and was in 1820 placed in the mini ...

) of the ''Archiv für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Bergbau und Hüttenkunde'' (26 volumes, 1829-1854).ADB:Karsten, Karl Johann Bernhard

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

He died at

in 1853. His son, Dr. Hermann Karsten (1809-1877), was a professor of

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

References

* 1782 births 1853 deaths People from the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin German mineralogists German metallurgists People from Bützow Engineers from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania {{geologist-stub