Oscar Friedrich von Fraas (17 January 1824, in

Lorch (Württemberg) Lorch is a small town in the Ostalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, by the river Rems, 8 kilometers west of Schwäbisch Gmünd. It is a part of the Ostwürttemberg region. Geography Lorch lies in a valley of the river Rems, ...

– 22 November 1897, in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

) was a German clergyman,

paleontologist 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

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 ...

. He was the father of geologist

Eberhard Fraas Eberhard Fraas (26 June 1862 – 6 March 1915) was a German scientist, geologist and paleontologist. He worked as a curator at the Stuttgarter Naturaliensammlung and discovered the dinosaurs of the Tendaguru formation in then German East Afric ...

(1862–1915).

Biography

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

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

(ministry exam, 1845). He was also deeply interested in natural sciences, and while a student at Tübingen was influenced by geologist

Friedrich August von Quenstedt Friedrich August von Quenstedt (July 10, 1809 – December 21, 1889), was a German geologist and palaeontologist. Life Von Quenstedt was born at Eisleben in Saxony, and educated at the Humboldt University of Berlin. After a period as assistant ...

. In 1847 he travelled to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he attended lectures given by

Alcide d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthrop ...

and

Jean-Baptiste Élie de Beaumont Jean-Baptiste Armand Louis Léonce Élie de Beaumont (25 September 1798 – 21 September 1874) was a French geologist. Biography Élie de Beaumont was born at Canon, in Calvados. He was educated at the Lycee Henri IV where he took the fir ...

. From 1850 to 1854, he served as a pastor in Laufen an der Eyach,Geological Magazine, Volume 5; Volume 35
edited by Henry Woodward and in the meantime obtained in his doctorate from the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

(1851).Fraas, Oscar
at Deutsche Biographie In 1854 he was named curator of the department of

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 ...

and paleontology at the Royal Württemberg museum of natural history in Stuttgart, where he greatly added to its collections of

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

n fossil

batrachia The Batrachia are a clade of amphibians that includes frogs and salamanders, but not caecilians nor the extinct allocaudates. The name Batrachia was first used by French zoologist Pierre André Latreille in 1800 to refer to frogs, but has mor ...

ns, reptiles and mammals. With Karl Deffner (1817–1877), he conducted a geological survey of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

, and in the field of applied geology, he made contributions towards the Swabian ''Albwasserversorgung'' ( Schwäbian Alb water supply project). In addition to his geological and paleontological studies of Württemberg, he conducted scientific investigations of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, based on travels to the region in 1864–65 and 1875. As a result of his Middle Eastern travels in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, he published the two part ''Aus dem Orient'' (1867, 1878). Fraas was a critic of

Darwinism Darwinism is a scientific theory, theory of Biology, biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of smal ...

and evolution. He believed in a

biblical flood The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microc ...

and held creationist views. He authored the book ''Vor der Sündfluth'' (''Before the Flood'') in 1866.

Selected works

* ''Die nutzbaren Minerale Württembergs''. Stuttgart: Ebner & Seubert, 1860.
''Vor der Sündfluth''
(1866) * ''Aus dem Orient'', 2 Theile, Stuttgart 1867–1878. ** heil 1 ''Geologische Beobachtungen am Nil, auf der Sinai-Halbinsel und in Syrien''. Stuttgart: Ebner & Seubert, 1867. ** heil 2 ''Geologische Beobachtungen am Lebanon''. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart, 1878. * ''Die geognostische Sammlung Württembergs im Erdgeschoss des Königlichen Naturalien-Cabinets zu Stuttgart. Ein Führer für die Besucher desselben'', 1869 * ''Geognostiche beschreibung von Württemberg : Baden und Hohenzollern'', 1882.IDREF.fr
bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraas, Oscar 1824 births 1897 deaths People from Lorch (Württemberg) People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Christian creationists 19th-century German geologists German paleontologists University of Tübingen alumni