Albert Heim

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Albert Heim

Jacob Albert Heim (born April 12, 1849 in Zurich ; † August 31, 1937 there ) was a Swiss geologist. Heim was a professor of geology at the ETH Zurich and also a cynologist . He was one of the founders of the earth's contraction theory , which was the standard model of geotectonics for almost 100 years - until around 1960 .

Life

Albert Heim was born as the second child of the businessman and banker Johann Konrad Heim and Sophie Elisabeth Heim. Fries born in Zurich. Following elementary school in Zurich and Hottingen , he attended industrial school (canton school) from 1864 to 1866. Immediately after graduating from high school, Albert Heim began studying natural sciences at the University of Zurich in 1866 . After three semesters, he switched to the Swiss Federal Polytechnic (since 1911 ETH Zurich), which he left in 1869 as a qualified “subject teacher in the natural sciences”. After graduating, Albert Heim continued his education abroad: He enrolled for one semester at the University and Mining School in Berlin and then went on the traditional study trip that took him to Denmark and Norway .

Back in Zurich, Albert Heim's academic career took off quickly, even for the time: in 1871 he completed his habilitation at the University of Zurich and at the Polytechnic. In 1872, at the age of 23, he was elected professor for technical and general geology at the Polytechnic. Three years later he also became a professor at the neighboring university and was the founder of the "Heimsche Modell-Reliefs ".

In 1875 Albert Heim married Marie Vögtlin , who a year earlier had opened her own practice in Zurich as the first female doctor in Switzerland, where she continued to work after the marriage. The Heim couple's professional activity had a profound influence on their two children: Arnold (1882–1965) became a geologist, Helene (1886–1979) a nurse.

Albert Heim was not only committed to research and teaching, he was also a sought-after author of geological reports, for example in connection with railway construction projects such as the Simplon tunnel or accidents such as the suburban disaster in Zug (1887). In addition, he developed an intensive commission activity, for example as the long-time President of the Geological Commission, as a member and temporary President of the Natural Research Society Zurich or as a member of the SAC . Outside of his geological interests, he advocated cremation for the construction of the Zurich crematorium and was active in the abstinence movement with his wife .

Albert Heim has recently received special attention in the context of near-death research. Heim had heard of strange experiences such as happiness and the panorama of life in mountain climbers during a fall. His thirst for knowledge was strengthened by the fact that he himself had had a similar experience. After 25 years of research into this phenomenon, he presented his results publicly on February 28, 1892. He came to the astonishing conclusion then and now that death in a crash “is subjectively a beautiful death”. The lecture can be found in the yearbook of the Swiss Alpine Club 1891/92, pp. 327–337. It is widely recognized as the beginning of scientific research into near-death experiences.

Up until his death, his great commitment to science and the spread of interest in geological issues had earned him many honors and awards, including the Albert-Heim-Hütte on the Furka Pass named after him. In 1898 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1913 to the National Academy of Sciences . From 1906 he was a corresponding member of the Académie des sciences . In 1918 Heim received the first Eduard Sueß commemorative coin from the Austrian Geological Society and in 1922 the Marcel Benoist Prize . In 1925 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina . In 1925 he became an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and in 1932 an honorary member of the Leopoldina.

He died on August 31, 1937 at the age of 88. His grave is in the Sihlfeld cemetery in Zurich.

The Dorsum Heim on the Earth's Moon is named after him. The same applies to the Heim glacier in Antarctica.

Services

geology

Drawing by Bristen by Albert Heim, February 2, 1872
Seeking reindeer

Albert Heim's main geological and cartographic works dealt with the central theme of tectonics and the formation of the Alps . He based it on the contraction hypothesis of a cooling earth, which through his work became the standard theory for many decades.

So he calculated the decrease in the circumference of the earth by fictitious smoothing of the mountains in order to preserve the area of ​​the earth before it shrank. It turned out that the circumference of the earth would be 5 km larger without the Jura mountains, and even 120 km larger without the Alps. A quote:

"If we estimate the folding of the other mountains cut by the Central-Alpine-Meridian in their convergence, we find that the reduction in circumference due to the entire mountain formation has so far been less than 1%."

According to Heim, the earth would have cooled by around 500 ° C since its formation. But he ruled out further horizontal shifts and mountain formations, in which Otto Ampferer contradicted him. He explained that earthquakes would continue to exist with changes in load, weathering and erosion.

Albert Heim (sitting in a chair) with students, including Arnold Fanck (back row, 4th from left), around 1912

Albert Heim's geological detailed studies often dealt with the Glarus Alps and the Säntis region . Here he combined his own observations with the specialist knowledge of his time and developed new theories, some of which led to heated controversies with specialist colleagues. The best-known example is the dispute about the origin of the so-called Glarus double fold , today the Glarus thrust , which he finally ended by acknowledging the correctness of the theory of his opponents.

At first he advocated the convolution theory of his predecessor as a professor at the ETH Zurich Arnold Escher von der Linth and was therefore involved in heated controversies with August Rothpletz in the 1890s . The investigations carried out in particular by Maurice Lugeon in western Switzerland made him rethink around 1901, which he also publicly admitted. Heim's publications, maps, panoramas and reliefs are not only important contributions to the development of geology, they also show his services to the use of scientific drawing and photography for the documentation and representation of geological relationships.

His find in the Kesslerloch , the engraving of the so-called “Seeking Reindeer” (previously called “Grazing Reindeer”), on a perforated rod made of reindeer antler in the presence of Jakob Messikommer on January 4, 1874, became famous. It is now in the Rosgarten Museum in Konstanz.

Cynology

Albert Heim made significant contributions to the promotion of the Swiss Mountain Dog breeds in the field of cynology . The breed standards of the four breeds still bred today, the Bernese Mountain Dog , Appenzeller Sennenhund , Entlebucher Sennenhund and Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, are largely due to him. The Albert Heim Foundation of the Swiss Cynological Society (SKG) established in 1929 to promote cynological research at the Natural History Museum in Bern is named after him.

Publications

Albert Heim, 1925
  • Investigations into the mechanism of mountain formation following the geological monograph of the Tödi-Windgällen group, 1878
  • The Elm landslide on September 11, 1881. Memorandum, 1881
  • Handbook of Glacier Science, 1885
  • Geological map of Switzerland, 1894
  • The journey of the "Wega" over the Alps and Jura, 1899
  • Air colors, 1912
  • Geology of Switzerland, 1916–1922
  • The Newfoundland Dog, 1927
  • Rockslide and Lives, 1932
  • Patent CH68865 : Process for the production of graphic reproductions with only visible markings on request. Registered on May 1, 1915 , inventors: Albert Heim, Hans Hofer. ‌

archive

In the archives and personal papers of the ETH-Bibliothek there is a partial estate from Albert Heim (Hs 400 and 401) with numerous manuscripts, sketches, drawings, watercolors, photographs and correspondence. An overview of this inventory can be found in the online list of bequests in the Research Collection of ETH Zurich.

literature

Fiction

Web links

Commons : Albert Heim  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rudolf Trümpy:  Heim, Jacob Albert. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, ISBN 3-428-00189-3 , p. 264 f. ( Digitized version ).
  2. ^ Heimsche model relief
  3. ^ Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1724: Heim, Albert. Russian Academy of Sciences, accessed November 25, 2019 (Russian).
  4. ↑ From the Glarus double fold to the Glarus thrust, in geo-life.ch ( Memento from April 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 328 kB)
  5. ^ Albert Heim on the website of the Albert Heim Foundation ( Memento from March 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ The journey of the "Wega" over the Alps and Jura online in the internet archive
  7. ↑ "Geology of Switzerland", doi: 10.3929 / ethz-a-005780481
  8. ^ Directory of the Albert Heim estate at the ETH-Bibliothek, doi: 10.3929 / ethz-a-000340959 and digitized photographs by Albert Heim at the ETH-Bibliothek
personal data
SURNAME Home, Albert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Home, Jacob Albert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss geologist, professor of geology at the ETH Zurich, cynologist
DATE OF BIRTH April 12, 1849
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH August 31, 1937
Place of death Zurich