Gregor von Helmersen

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Gregor von Helmersen (1876)
Gregor von Helmersen's grave in Tartu

Gregory of Helmersen (also Russian Григорий Петрович Гельмерсен , Grigorij Petrovic Gel'mersen ; born September 29 . Jul / 11. October  1803 greg. Gut Dückershof at Kamby , district Tartu , Estonia ; † February 3 jul. / February 15  1885 greg. In Saint Petersburg ) was a German-Baltic geologist and explorer .

origin

Helmersen was a member of the noble family of Helmersen . His parents were Russian State Councilor Peter von Helmersen (1776-1860) and his wife Auguste von Sivers (1779-1863). His brother Alexander (1797-1850) became a Russian lieutenant general and director of the cadet corps, his brother Paul (1801-1894) was a high school professor and his sister Anna was married to the professor and explorer Emil Lenz (1804-1865).

Life

He grew up on his father's estate Dückershof. In 1826 he undertook a geological expedition to the Urals together with Ernst Reinhold Hofmann and explored the Southern Urals in 1828/29. From 1831 to 1832 he studied petrefacts in Bonn before traveling to the Urals, the Kyrgyz Steppes and the Altai from 1833 to 1836 . From 1838 to 1863 he worked as a professor of geology at the Berginstitut in Saint Petersburg , which he converted from 1865 to 1872 as director to a free academic institution.

When exploring large areas of Russia , his main focus was on the detection and development of fossil fuels ; He also looked for diluvial peat deposits and amber formations . In 1841 he worked out the first general map of the mountain formations of European Russia and thus created the first geological map of this region.

In 1829 he accompanied Alexander von Humboldt on a journey through Russia and Siberia .

Between two expeditions to the Urals, he traveled to the Altai in the spring of 1834 via Omsk and Barnaul . The first scientific description and recording of Lake Teletsk are due to this trip . He drove the lake lengthways, took height and temperature measurements, drew a precise picture of the mountain forest banks and gave the first more precise descriptions of the residents.

In 1839, together with Karl Ernst von Baer, ​​he founded the first series of natural science books in Russia, the "Contributions to Knowledge of the Russian Empire" (Petersburg 1839–1900, a total of 45 volumes / parts), in which many of his publications appeared.

In 1847 he became a corresponding member of the Society for the History and Archeology of the Baltic Provinces of Russia .

He was a member of the Imperial Science Academy in St. Petersburg and founded the " Russian Geological Committee " in 1882, of which he was the first chairman.

family

He married Agrafina Koschelew (1813-1893) a daughter of the Russian general Jakob Koschelew and Charlotte von Helmersen . The couple had 8 children, 3 of whom died young, including:

  • Wilhelm (1838–1887), Russian councilor
  • Auguste ∞ Robert Lenz (1833–1903) Professor of physics and physical geography, from 1889 to 1899 head of the expedition for the preparation of state papers

Works

  • Journey to the Urals and the Kyrgyz Steppes in 1833 and 1835 . First division. St. Petersburg, K. Akad. Der Wissenschaften, 1841. With 3 lith. Folded maps based on G. von Helmersen (report of a geological expedition to the Urals, published as the fifth volume in the series: KE Baer, ​​G. v. Helmersen (ed.): Contributions to the knowledge of the Russian Empire and the neighboring countries of Asia )
  • Journey to the Altai, made in 1834. St. Petersburg, printing press of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1848 (contributions to knowledge of the Russian Empire ... fourteenth volume)
  • The Teletsk Lake and the Teleuts in the eastern Altai. 2 vols. (St. Petersburg, 1838)
  • Overview map of the mountain formations of European Russia (St. Petersburg 1841, 3rd edition 1873)
  • The Donets Coal Mountains and their Industrial Future (1863)
  • Studies of the Wandering Blocks and the Diluvial Formations of Russia (1882)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography Ernst Reinhold Hofmann on shartashmegaliths.ru ; accessed on August 29, 2018 (Russian)
personal data
SURNAME Helmersen, Gregor von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geologist and explorer
DATE OF BIRTH October 11, 1803
PLACE OF BIRTH Dückershof Manor near Kamby , Dorpat County , Estonia
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 1885
Place of death Saint Petersburg , Russia