Matthias Joseph Anker (6 May 1771 – 3 April 1843) was an Austrian

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 proces ...

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 ...

born in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. Some sources place his birth date as 1 May 1772.Wikisource
translated biography @

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

He received his education in

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

, afterwards working as a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

in the town of

Stainz Stainz is a municipality in the district of Deutschlandsberg in the Austrian state of Styria. A notable building there is Schloss Stainz, a former monastery complex that belongs to the Counts of Meran and hosts collections from the Universalmuseum ...

. In 1807 he was called to Graz as a district surgeon, from where he intensified his scientific studies in mineralogy. Four years later, he joined the staff of

Friedrich Mohs Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs (; 29 January 1773 – 29 September 1839) was a German chemist and mineralogist. He was the creator of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Mohs also introduced a classification of the crystal forms in crystal syst ...

at the Johanneum in Graz, where he eventually became a professor of mineralogy as well as

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the mineral cabinet.The Mineralogical Record, Inc.
(biography) In 1839, he resigned from his teaching position, but stayed on as director of collections.
In 1828/29, he supervised the creation of a catalog involving the mineral cabinet at the Johanneum, where in 1833 he reorganized the collection according to the Mohs system. Also, he is credited for providing the first geological map of

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

(1835). In 1825, Wilhelm von Haidinger (1795–1871) named the mineral

ankerite Ankerite is a calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese carbonate mineral of the group of rhombohedral carbonates with the chemical formula . In composition it is closely related to dolomite, but differs from this in having magnesium replaced by varyin ...

in his honor.

Writings

* ''Kurze Darstellung einer Mineralogie von Steiermark'' (Outline of mineralogy in Styria), 1809 * ''Kurze Darstellung der mineralogisch-geognostischen Gebirgs-Verhältnisse der Steiermark'' (Outline of mineralogical- geognostic mountain conditions in Styria), 1835.Google Books
(publications)

References

1771 births 1843 deaths Scientists from Graz People from the Duchy of Styria Austrian mineralogists 19th-century Austrian geologists {{geologist-stub