Otto Follmann (10 December 1856 in

Landscheid Landscheid (in the Eifel dialect: ''Lähscheld'') is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – which is a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. ...

– 11 June 1926 in

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) was a German

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 ...

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 educator.

Life and work

Follmann's father, Hilarius Follmann, was a teacher in the rural village of Landscheid in the

Eifel mountains The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

in western Germany. The Eifel poet Peter Zirbes was among his students and in addition to being the local teacher he also held a degree in husbandry (''Wiesenbaumeister''). Follmann attended the ''Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium'' (high school) in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

. After his graduation in 1878 he went on to study math and sciences in Berlin, Münster and Bonn ultimately specialising in geology. He received his PhD from the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

for his work on the geology of the Eifel region (''Die unterdevonischen Schichten von Olkenbach'') and worked afterwards shortly as an assistant at the institute for geology. Later he worked as a teacher at a gymnasium in Bonn and in 1889 he became a teacher for math and sciences at the ''Kaiserin-Augusta-Gymnasium'' (today ''Görres-Gymnasium'') in

, where he stayed until his retirement in 1923. Aside from working as a teacher Follmann continued his research into the geology of the Eifel regions and became a well regarded expert on the subject. Best known among his many publications is the seminal monography ''Die Eifel'', which saw several editions. The University of Bonn appointed him a professor without pay (''Honorarprofessor'') for his research in 1908. In 1926 Follmann fell severely ill and died on June 11. The ''Otto-Follmann-Straße'' in Landscheid and the ''Follmannstraße'' in Koblenz are two streets that are named after him. In the field of

Archaeobotany Paleoethnobotany (also spelled palaeoethnobotany), or archaeobotany, is the study of past human-plant interactions through the recovery and analysis of ancient plant remains. Both terms are synonymous, though paleoethnobotany (from the Greek words ...

, a genus of historical

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Carroll William Dodge Carroll William Dodge (January 20, 1895 – July 21, 1988) was an American mycologist and lichenologist. His major fields of study included human and mammalian parasitic fungi, lichen-associated fungi, and fungi forming subterranean sporophores. ...

and also '' Follmanniella'', which is a

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the family

Roccellaceae The Roccellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Arthoniomycetes. Most taxa are lichenized with green algae, although some are lichenicolous, growing on other lichens. Genera , Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accepts 47 genera an ...

, published in 2012 by Jörg Peine and Birgit Werner, also honours Follmann, as well.

Works (selection)

* ''Die unterdevonischen Schichten von Olkenbach''. Dissertation, Uni Bonn, 1882 * ''Die Eifel''. J. Engelhorn, Stuttgart, 1894
Review at JSTOR
* ''Vulkanwegführer Andernach-Gerolstein''. Schaar & Dathe 1914, Trier 1914 * ''Abriss der Geologie der Eifel''. G. Westermann, 1915 * ''Der Trierer Geologe Johannes Steininger (1794–1874)''. Lintz, Trier 1920 * ''Die Koblenzschichten am Mittelrhein und im Moselgebiet''. Bonn, 1925

References

External links

''Follmannia''
at Wikispecies {{DEFAULTSORT:Follmann, Otto 19th-century German geologists 20th-century German geologists 1856 births 1926 deaths People from Bernkastel-Wittlich

Life and work

Works (selection)

Further reading

References

External links