Gustav Adolph Kenngott (January 6, 1818 – March 7, 1897) 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 ...

Biography

Kenngott was born in Breslau. After being employed in the Hofmineralien-Cabinett at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. From 1857 to 1893 he was also full professor of mineralogy at the

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

and at the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. He was distinguished for his researches on mineralogy,

crystallography Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids. Crystallography is a fundamental subject in the fields of materials science and solid-state physics (condensed matter physics). The wor ...

and

petrology Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous and metamorphic petrology are commonly taught together ...

. In 1855, from the serpentine of Mount Zdjar near Schönberg in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

, Kenngott was the first to describe

enstatite Enstatite is a mineral; the magnesium endmember of the pyroxene silicate mineral series enstatite (MgSiO3) – ferrosilite (FeSiO3). The magnesium rich members of the solid solution series are common rock-forming minerals found in igneous and m ...

. In 1860 he identified a new mineral, giving it the name pisanite in honor of Felice Pisani. Kenngott died in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

Publications

*''Lehrbuch der reinen Krystallographie'' (1846) – Textbook of pure crystallography. *''Lehrbuch der Mineralogie'' (1852 and 1857; 5th ed., 1880) – Textbook of mineralogy. *''Übersicht der Resultate mineralogischer Forschungen in den Jahren 1844-1865'' (7 vols., 1852-1868) – Overview of the results of mineralogical research in the years 1844–65. *''Die Minerale der Schweiz'' (1866) – The minerals of Switzerland. *''Elemente der Petrographie'' (1868) – Elements of

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The class ...

References

External links

* :de:Gustav Adolf Kenngott * :it:Pisanite {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenngott, Gustav Adolph 1818 births 1897 deaths German mineralogists Scientists from Wrocław Academic staff of the University of Zurich Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Academic staff of ETH Zurich