Heinrich Lotz

Heinrich Ludwig Lotz (born February 22, 1873 in Hersfeld , † January 5, 1943 in Marburg ) was a German geologist and mountain ridge who was active in diamond mining in German South West Africa .

Lotz was the son of a businessman and, after graduating from high school in Hersfeld, studied geology in Marburg and Tübingen from 1891 . He was a student of Emanuel Kayser and Theobald Fischer (1846-1910) in Marburg and received his doctorate in 1899 (on a topic of meteorology ). In 1900 he became an assistant geologist at the Prussian Geological State Institute (PGLA), and from 1902 with a permanent position. But in 1903 he went to the colonial administration in German South West Africa as a geologist. Before he could begin his exploration of water resources and mineral resources, the Herero uprising broke out and Lotz ensured the German protection force had their water supply. In 1906 he returned to Germany, where he became a district geologist with the PGLA (he was with the PGLA until 1909), gave many lectures and received the Order of the Crown, 4th Class with Swords. In 1907 he was again the chief representative of the South West African Mining Syndicate in German South West Africa, set up a laboratory for the search for mineral resources and, after the diamond discoveries in the colony, became head of the newly founded German Diamond Society. Until 1914 he changed regularly between stays in South West Africa and Germany. When the First World War broke out, he was on a voyage back to Germany when the ship was diverted to Brazil, where he spent the remainder of the war and explored South America. After being occupied by the South Africans, the German Diamond Company was taken over by Consolidated Diamond Mines, with the German owners being compensated. Lotz was still involved in the processing of business until the 1920s as chairman of the German Colonial Society in South West Africa . In 1923 he returned to Germany and worked as a geologist for the Otavi Mining and Railway Company , where he mainly explored bauxite deposits. In 1929 he traveled to the International Geological Congress in Pretoria and did research in Angola. Lotz continued to support the geological exploration of Namibia, for example in contact with Erich Kaiser . He was Bergrat and had the title of professor. After retiring, he moved to Marburg.

He received the Silver Medal Bene merenti of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and in 1936 the Golden Leibniz Medal of the Prussian Academy of Sciences .

He had been married to Christiane Friederike Marianne Külz (1884–1965) since 1907 and had a daughter Cleo.

Web links

• Literature by and about Heinrich Lotz in the catalog of the German National Library
• Biography at namibiana
• PGLA geologist list