Yaakov Ben-Tor ( he, יעקב בן-תור; 1910–2002) was an Israeli

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 ...

Biography

Ben-Tor was born as Kurt Winter in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

city of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

, Germany, (since 1945

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

, now in Russia) in 1910. Winter began studying law at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Prussi ...

, continuing 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 ...

and then studied

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

at the

University of the Sorbonne , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in Paris, prior to leaving Europe. With the rise of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in Germany, he emigrated to the then

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

(now

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) in 1933, where he later hebraicized his name. Ben-Tor joined the

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

Department at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, and continued on to doctoral studies in Switzerland, where he was erroneously arrested at the outbreak of the Second World War on suspicion of being a German spy, but he managed to flee home to Mandate Palestine. Not long after, he completed his thesis in Geology at the Hebrew University, becoming the first person to be awarded a doctoral degree by the University. Ben-Tor served from 1944-1948 in the state-to-be's Provisional Council, as a member of the Aliyah Hadashah Party, comprising immigrants from Germany. He was also active in the

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

(the underground Jewish defence force) and was asked to serve in Hemed, its Scientific Division, by Professor Yisrael Dostrovski. At the height of the

1947–1949 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

, together with Leo Picard and Akiva Vroman, he conducted geological mapping surveys of the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

, for the purpose of locating potential deposits of oil and

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

: however, they found only

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

deposits Oron, near Dimona, and copper at

Timna Timna ( Qatabānic: , romanized: , ; ar, تمنع, translit=Timnaʿ) is an ancient city in Yemen, the capital of the Qataban kingdom; it is distinct from a valley in southern Israel that shares the same name. During ancient times, Timna was an i ...

. For this work, he and Vroman were later awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

. During this period, Ben-Tor also completed a second doctorate with distinction, this time at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. In 1953, he served as the head of the

Israel Geological Society The Israel Geological Society (IGS) is a non-profit organization that is the national organization for geologists in Israel, including those working in academic institutions, research institutions and commercial organizations; it is also open ...

and in 1954 he was appointed head of the Israel Geological Survey. He later became Head of the

Department at the

and later was also a professor at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

, in the United States of America. The mineral

Bentorite Bentorite is a mineral with the chemical formula Ca6(Cr,Al)2(SO4)3(OH)12·26H2O. It is colored violet to light violet. Its crystals are hexagonal to dihexagonal dipyramidal. It is transparent and has vitreous luster. It has perfect cleavage. It ...

, discovered in the

Hatrurim Formation The Hatrurim Formation or ''Mottled Zone'' is a geologic formation with outcrops all around the Dead Sea Basin: in the Negev Desert in Israel, in the Judaean Desert on the West Bank, and in western Jordan. It includes late Cretaceous to Eocene age ...

of the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

in 1980 by

Shulamit Gross Shulamit Gross (Hebrew: שולמית גרוס; lived 1 October 1923 – 19 Sep 2012) was an Israeli mineralogist and geologist who studied the Hatrurim Formation. Biography Gross was born as Shulamit Lifszyc in Grodno, Poland (today, Hrodna, B ...

, was named in his honour. The dinoflagellate cyst ''Spiniferites bentorii'' was also named in his honour.

Awards

* In 1955, Ben-Tor was awarded the

, for his contribution to

Life Sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...

References

External links

Bentorite Mineral Data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Tor, Yaakov 1910 births 2002 deaths University of Königsberg alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni University of Paris alumni University of California, San Diego faculty Israel Prize in life sciences recipients Israel Prize in life sciences recipients who were geologists Israeli geologists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine Scientists from Königsberg People from East Prussia 20th-century geologists German expatriates in France

Biography

Awards

See also

References

External links