Ludwik Zejszner born Ludwig Zeuschner (c. 1805 – 3 January 1871) was a Prussian geologist, paleontologist and mineralogist. He is considered a pioneer of cartographic approaches to geology. He taught mineralogy at Warsaw and was a specialist on the Tatra Mountains in the Carpathians where he was also involved in conservation.

Life and work

Zeuschner was born in Warsaw in a family of chemists of German descent who had settled in Skwierzyna, near Poznań and served in the court of

Poniatowski The House of Poniatowski (plural: ''Poniatowscy'') is a prominent Polish family that was part of the nobility of Poland. A member of this family, Stanisław Poniatowski, was elected as King of Poland and reigned from 1764 until his abdication ...

as a court pharmacist. He graduated in 1822 from Linde High School (Lycaeum) and went to the University of Warsaw. In 1824 he went to Berlin, while also attending lectures in Göttingen and Heidelberg including those of

Humboldt Humboldt may refer to: People * Alexander von Humboldt, German natural scientist, brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt * Wilhelm von Humboldt, German linguist, philosopher, and diplomat, brother of Alexander von Humboldt Fictional characters * ...

and

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

. He received a doctorate in 1829 from Heidelberg with a dissertation on chemical mixtures in crystallization. Returning to Poland he took the Polish form of his surname Zejszner and joined the newly formed Mineralogy Department at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

, working there until 1833 when he was dismissed during the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

. He became a mines director at Krakow serving until 1837 and returned in 1848 to the Jagiellonian University. He collaborated with other geologists both inside in Poland like Wincenty Pol and from outside including visitors to the Carpathians like

Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scotland, Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigat ...

. He was employed by the Warsaw Government geological department for which he made explorations and geological maps. From 1829–1856 he was involved in research in the Tatra Mountains and produced numerous research papers. In 1849 he visited Vistula and Barania Góra. In 1857 he worked at the Medical Surgical Academy and in 1861 he worked on a geological map of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains region between Sandomierz and Kielce. Shortly after the fall of Krakow, he was murdered but the motive was never identified and it was speculated to be political. He was buried in Rakowicki Cemetery. A major publication was a textbook on mineralogy, but his landmark work was the geological map of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains made in 9 sheets and ''Paleontologia Polska'' (1846). He noted former glacial cover in the Tatra mountains and explored hot springs in the area.

References

External links

Palaeontologia Polska : Opis zoologiczny, botaniczny i geologiczny wszystkich zwierząt i roślin skamienałych polskich. I
(1845)
Rzut oka na budowę geologiczną Tatrów i wzniesień od nich równoodległych
(1842) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zejszner, Ludwik 1805 births 1871 deaths University of Warsaw alumni People from Congress Poland Academic staff of Jagiellonian University Polish geologists Polish geographers Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery 1871 murders in Europe 19th-century murders in Poland 19th-century German geographers 19th-century Polish geologists 19th-century German geologists