Johannes Walther (geologist)

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Johannes Walther

Johannes Walther (born July 20, 1860 in Neustadt an der Orla ; † May 4, 1937 in Bad Hofgastein ) was a German geologist and paleontologist . In his publications he also covered other areas of geosciences .

life and work

Walther came from a religious family and from 1880 studied botany, philosophy and zoology in Jena . In 1882 he successfully completed this course with a doctorate. He then studied geology and paleontology in Leipzig and later switched to Munich in the same subjects .

The following year the University of Naples appointed him to the Naples Zoological Station as a lecturer for two years . In the Gulf of Naples he carried out extensive sedimentological and biological studies. He traveled to Tunis and Italy and mapped in 1884 under Edmund Mojsisovics von Mojsvár in the Alps. In 1885 he went to Naples for a second study visit (and again in 1910), then returned to Jena and completed his habilitation there in 1886 with a thesis on crinoids . It was not until Walther, with the experience he had gained in Italy, that brought the application of the actualistic principle established by Charles Lyell (1797–1875) (Walther called it 'ontological' working method) to full advantage in sedimentological research in Central Europe. In addition, the marine geology in Germany experienced a strong boom through him . Walther also recognized the interplay of eustatic (absolute) and tectonic (relative) sea level fluctuations .

In the following years Walther undertook numerous research trips, including to Egypt (1887, 1911) and the Sinai Peninsula (1887), Arabia, Ceylon and India (1888/89), to the USA (1891), Australia (1914) and Greece and Scotland . In 1890 the University of Jena appointed him ao , four years later to o. Professor of Geology and Paleontology ( Haeckel professor ). In 1892 he was accepted as a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina . In 1930 he became an honorary member of the Thuringian Geological Association and in 1932 a corresponding member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences .

Walther stayed for a long time in the Urals and in the desert of Turkmenistan . He applied the knowledge gained here about the formation of terrestrial sediments, again following currentism, to the sediment formations of the “primeval deserts” of the Paleozoic (ancient times ). He then moved to the University of Halle and worked there from 1906 until his retirement in 1928. In Halle he also dealt with the lignite deposits and dug in the Geiseltal . He also contributed significantly to the development of theories for the formation of the large brown coal deposits. In 1924, the Leopoldina elected Walther to succeed August Gutzmer as its President. He held this office until 1931. Emil Abderhalden was his successor . In 1935 he left the Leopoldina because he felt duped by being held back.

Johannes Walther died on May 4, 1937 in Hofgastein, Salzburg, at the age of 77.

He was married to Janna Hentschel since 1899.

Fonts

  • The coral reefs of the Sinai Peninsula. Geological and biological observations . In: Treatises of the Mathematical-Physical Class of the Royal Saxon Society of Sciences, 14, 10, Treatises of the Royal Saxon Society of Sciences, 24, 10, 440 - 555, VIII plate, S. Hirzel, Leipzig, 1888
  • About the geology of Capri , Z. Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft , Volume 41, 1889, pp. 771-776
  • About a coal-limestone fauna in the Arabian desert , Z. Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft, Volume 42, 1890, s. 419-449
  • The denudation in the desert and its geological significance. Investigations into the formation of sediments in the Egyptian deserts . In: Treatises of the Mathematical-Physical Class of the Royal Saxon Society of Sciences, 16, 3, Treatises of the Royal Saxon Society of Sciences 27, 345-570, VIII plate, S. Hirzel, Leipzig, 1891
  • On the way of life of fossil marine animals , Z. Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft, Volume 49, 1897, pp. 209-273
  • The Adams Bridge and the coral reefs of the Palk Strait. Sediment studies in the tropical littoral area . Justus Perthes, Gotha, 1891
  • Introduction to geology as historical science , Jena, 3 volumes, 1893–1894
  • General oceanography , Leipzig: Weber 1893
  • About selection in geological history , Jena: Fischer 1895
  • The law of desertification in the present and past , Berlin: Reimer 1900, 4th edition, Quelle & Meyer 1924
  • Geological local history of Thuringia , Jena: Fischer 1902
  • The fauna of the Solnhofen limestone limestone , in: Festschrift 70th birthday of Ernst Haeckel, Jena: Fischer 1904, pp. 133–214
  • Geology pre-school , Jena 1905
  • History of the earth and life . 353 ills., 571 pp., Veit & Comp., Berlin, 1908
  • Textbook of the geology of Germany , Leipzig: Quelle & Meyer 1910
  • The underground water and the divining rod , Gernrode 1911
  • Contributions to the stratigraphy and educational history of the upper main shell limestone and the lower Lettenkohle in Franconia , Jena: Fischer 1913
  • Geology of the homeland , Quelle & Meyer 1918
  • Geology - The methods of geology as a historical and biological science . In: E. Abderhalden (Ed.) Handbooks of biological working methods, delivery 185, Dept. X, Urban & Schwarzenberg, Berlin, pp. 529–658
  • General paleontology , Borntraeger , Berlin, 1927 (809 pages)
  • Construction and education of the earth , Quelle & Meyer, 2nd edition 1927
  • Nature in Goethe's worldview , Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft Leipzig 1932
  • The riddle of the divining rod , Reclam 1933
  • Introduction to German soil science , Springer 1935
  • Under the spell of Ernst Haeckel (edited by Gerhard Heberer ), Göttingen: Musterschmidt 1953

literature

  • Ilse Seibold : The way to biogeology: Johannes Walther (1860–1937); A researcher's life in the changing German university , Springer 1992
  • Johannes Weigelt: The life course of Johannes Walther with a timeline of scientific career and honors and overview publications (In: Leopoldina. Reports of the Imperial Leopoldine German Academy of Natural Scientists in Halle. Volume 6: Festschrift for Johannes Walther , edited by Johannes Weigelt, p. 3 -10), Verlag von Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1930.
  • Norbert Hauschke, Silvia Isaak, Lars Schimpf, Martin Seiffert, Wolfgang Gossel: Johannes Walther (1860–1937) between reef and desert - securing evidence in 3D on the occasion of his 150th birthday. Halle (Saale). October 2010. ISBN 978-3-00-032815-2
  • Christian Müller: Geology and paleontology at the Jena University: On the work of the geologist and paleontologist Johannes Walther from 1882 to 1906 . Thuringian Geological Association Jena, 2017. Contributions to the geology of Thuringia , special volume 2017

Web links

Wikisource: Johannes Walther  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Helmut Hölder: Brief history of geology and paleontology . Springer publishing house. Berlin, Heidelberg, 1989
  2. ^ Honorary members of the TGV
  3. ^ Members of the SAW: Johannes Walther. Saxon Academy of Sciences, accessed on December 11, 2016 .
  4. ^ Wagenbreth, History of Geology in Germany, 1999, p. 209
  5. ^ Wieland Berg, An honorable lie: Abderhalden's letter to delete the Jewish members of the Leopoldina - anticipatory obedience or protective claim, Sudhoffs Archiv, Volume 99, 2015, p. 112
personal data
SURNAME Walther, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geologist and paleontologist
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Neustadt an der Orla
DATE OF DEATH May 4, 1937
Place of death Bad Hofgastein , Salzburg