Léon Marie Louis Moret (4 July 1890 – 22 November 1972) was a French geologist and

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

. Initially trained in medicine he became a paleontologist and wrote several books on fossil plants and animals while also examining alpine geology. He supported the view that all rocks and soils were susceptible to flow over geological time. Moret was born in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

where his father was a notary. He took an early interest in natural history, and went to study medicine at Lyon as several members of the family were doctors. He studied medicine and was enlisted into

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914. He received a

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

and after being demobilized he received his doctorate in 1919 with a thesis titled ''Contribution à l’étude des exostoses ostéogéniques''. He then decided to study geology and became an assistant to Maurice Gignoux at Strasbourg. He moved to the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

as a lecturer in geology in 1923. He succeeded Wilfrid Kilian in 1926 as chairman of the geology department and in 1953, he succeeded Gignoux at Strasbourg. Moret's thesis in geology on fossil sponges in 1926. He then worked on a manual of animal paleontology, ''Manuel de paléontologie animale'' (1939), followed by ''Paléontologie végétale'' (1942) dealing with plant paleontology. Moret was married to Elizabeth Denarié and they had four children. He was also a watercolour artist and painted several landscapes which were exhibited.

References

External links

Brief biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moret, Léon 1890 births 1972 deaths French geologists French paleontologists