List of geologists

The list of geologists is an alphabetical list of famous or outstanding geologists or geoscientists. Many of them have received awards such as the Gustav Steinmann Medal , the Penrose Medal or the Wollaston Medal or have been accepted into learned societies such as the National Academy of Sciences or the Royal Society .

The geosciences include the following sub-disciplines: geochemistry , geophysics , geomorphology , glaciology , hydrology , hydrogeology , oceanography , mineralogy , petrology , crystallography , paleontology , paleobotany , paleoclimatology , palynology , sedimentology , soil science , stratigraphy and volcanology .

The listed personality is a geologist unless otherwise specified.

The list does not claim to be complete.

See also : history of geology

Contents A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A.

Louis Agassiz

• Hermann von Abich (1806–1886), German mineralogist
• Louis Agassiz (1807–1873), Swiss / American geologist, research on ice ages , glaciers and Lake Agassiz
• Georgius Agricola (Georg Bauer) (1494–1555), German naturalist and “father of mineralogy ”, author of De re metallica
• George Biddell Airy (1801-1892), English mathematician and astronomer, geophysical studies (determined the mean density of the earth, principle of isostasy )
• Friedrich von Alberti (1795–1878), German geologist, defined the Triassic
• Albertus Magnus (to 1200-1280), a polymath who wrote treatise about minerals De minerabilibus
• Claude Allègre (* 1937), French geochemist , recipient of several awards
• Fernando Flávio Marques de Almeida (1916–2013), important research on the geology of South America
• Walter Alvarez (* 1940), USA, author of T. Rex and the Crater of Doom
• Otto Ampferer (1875–1947), Austrian tectonist, created the undercurrent theory
• Roy Chapman Andrews (1884–1960), American explorer and naturalist, Dinosaurs of Mongolia
• Mary Anning (1799–1847), English pioneer in collecting fossils
• Adolphe d'Archiac (1802–1868), French paleontologist , awarded the Wollaston Medal
• Giovanni Arduino (1714–1795), Italian, first definition of the geological time scale
• Émile Argand (1879–1940), Swiss tectonist, did important work on the construction of the Alps and the geology of Asia
• Richard Lee Armstrong (1937–1991), American / Canadian geochemist
• Tanya Atwater (* 1942), California, USA, geophysicist , marine geologist, specialist in plate tectonics
• Avicenna (Abū Alī al-Husayn ibn Abdullāh ibn Sīnā) (980-1037), Persian philosopher and scholar, wrote a book about the formation of rocks

B.

Florence Bascom , 1893

• Ralph Alger Bagnold (1896–1990), British engineer and geomorphologist, pioneer of desert research
• Andrew Geddes Bain (1797–1864), South African, created the first detailed geological map of South Africa
• Robert Bakewell (1767–1843), England, author of early textbooks on geology and mineralogy
• Anthony R. Barringer (1925–2009), Canadian / American geophysicist and inventor
• Thomas FW Barth (1899–1971), Norwegian mineralogist, petrologist and geochemist, important work on feldspars , wrote a textbook on petrology
• Florence Bascom (1862–1945), USA, first female geologist with the US Geological Survey
• Élie de Beaumont (1798–1874), French geologist. Geological map of France.
• Sir Henry Thomas de la Bèche (1796–1855), English geologist, studies in Jamaica , first director of the British Geological Survey , detailed geological exploration of England
• Johann Joachim Becher (1635–1682), German alchemist and universal scholar, depiction of coke and tar from coal
• Richard Beck (1858–1919), German geologist, professor at the Bergakademie Freiberg, rector from 1911 to 1913
• Robert Bell (1841–1917), is considered Canada's most important explorer
• Walter A. Bell (1889–1969), Canadian paleobotanist and stratigraph
• Wladimir Wladimirowitsch Belousov (1907–1990), Soviet geologist, consistent exponent of fixism
• Etheldred Benett (1776–1845), English paleontologist
• Torbern Olof Bergman (1735–1784), Swedish chemist and mineralogist, works on mineral analysis, classification of rocks
• Marcel Alexandre Bertrand (1847–1907), French geologist, made significant contributions to the development of ceiling theory
• Pierre Berthier (1782–1861), French geologist, discovered the properties of bauxite
• Heinrich Ernst Beyrich (1815–1896), German geologist and paleontologist, founding member of the German Geological Society , established the Oligocene
• Max Blanckenhorn (1861–1947), German geologist, is considered the father of Egyptian geology
• Bruce Bolt (1930–2005), USA (native Australian), innovator of seismological techniques in California
• José Bonaparte (1928–2020), Argentine paleontologist , discoverer of many South American dinosaur species
• Norman L. Bowen (1887–1956), Canada, pioneer of experimental petrology
• Scipione Breislak (1750–1826), Italian mineralogist and geologist (German origin), pioneer in the sampling of volcanic gases
• J Harlen Bretz (1882-1981), USA could, the emergence of the Channeled Scablands enlighten
• Roland Brinkmann (1898–1995), German geologist
• Wallace S. Broecker (1931–2019), American paleoclimatologist and chemical oceanographer
• Waldemar Christofer Brøgger (1851–1940), Norwegian geologist and mineralogist, working in the Oslo Trench, differentiating igneous rocks
• Alexandre Brongniart (1770–1847), French mineralogist and geologist, works on the Paris Basin and the Swiss Jura
• Robert Broom (1866–1951), South African paleontologist , discoverer of australopithecines
• Barnum Brown (1873–1963), USA, famous dinosaur collector and amateur paleontologist
• Serge von Bubnoff (1888–1957), German geologist, professor in Greifswald and Berlin
• Christian Leopold von Buch (1774-1853), German geologist and paleontologist , defined the Jura
• William Buckland (1784-1856), English geologist and mineralogist, wrote the first complete treatise on a fossil dinosaur
• Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707–1788), French naturalist and botanist , Théorie de la terre , monumental natural history
• Edward C. Bullard (1907–1980), English nuclear physicist and geophysicist, did important work on the theory of geodynamo, demonstrated the good fit of the continental shelves
• Kurd von Bülow (1899–1971), German geologist
• Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811–1899), German chemist, dealt with geological issues (magma formation) in old age
• B. Clark Burchfiel (* 1934), USA, structural geologist at MIT , investigates a. a. the Tibetan Plateau

C.

Edward Drinker Cope

• Colin J. Campbell (* 1931), British petroleum geologist , theorist of the global maximum oil production
• Samuel Warren Carey (1911–2002), Australian geologist, developed the expansion theory
• Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (1843–1928), American geologist, founder of the Journal of Geology , planetesimal theory , "pulsation theory" to explain orogenic cycles
• Alexandre-Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois (1819–1886), France, geologist and mineralogist
• Johann von Charpentier (1786–1855), German-Swiss geologist and glaciologist, did important work on the Pleistocene glaciation of the Alps
• Thomas H. Clark (1893–1996), Canada, co-author of The Geological Evolution of North America (1960)
• William Branwhite Clarke (1798–1878), British clergyman and geologist, is considered the father of geology in Australia
• Hans Cloos (1885–1951), famous German tectonist
• Lorence G. Collins (* 1931), American petrologist , made important discoveries in the field of metasomatosis
• Simon Conway Morris (* 1951), paleontologist and writer
• William Daniel Conybeare (1787–1857), England, author of Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales (1822), established the Carboniferous
• Isabel Clifton Cookson (1893–1973), Australian paleobotanist and palynologist , a botanical award bears her name
• Edward Drinker Cope (1840–1897), USA, pioneer of dinosaur paleontology, adversary of the Bone Wars
• Louis Cordier (1777–1861), French mining engineer, first measurement of temperature increase with depth
• Bernhard von Cotta (1808–1879), German geologist and mining scientist, completed the geological map of Saxony and contributed to the formation of granite and veins
• Vincent Courtillot (* 1948), French geophysicist.
• James Croll (1821–1890), Scottish autodidact and naturalist, recognized the connection between the Ice Age and Earth orbit
• Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), France, proponent of catastrophism

D.

Charles Darwin , circa 1860

• G. Brent Dalrymple (* 1937), American geophysicist, author of The Age of the Earth (1991)
• Reginald Aldworth Daly (1871–1957), Canadian geologist, theory of igneous rocks , collision theory of the formation of the moon
• James Dwight Dana (1813–1895), USA, author of the System of Mineralogy (1837)
• Charles Darwin (1809–1882), British naturalist, author of On the Origin of Species , theory of the formation of coral reefs
• William Morris Davis (1850–1934), American engineer and natural scientist, did important work on the geomorphology of rivers
• George Mercer Dawson (1849–1901), Canada, initial geological exploration of the Yukon
• John William Dawson (1820–1899), Canada, first geological exploration of Acadia
• Gérard Paul Deshayes (1795–1875), French paleontologist, head of the Natural History Museum in Paris, structure of the tertiary
• René Descartes (1596–1650), French philosopher, mathematician and natural scientist, theory of earth evolution
• Nicolas Desmarest (1725–1815), France, pioneer of volcanology
• William R. Dickinson (1931–2015), Arizona, USA, plate tectonics , Colorado Plateau
• Robert S. Dietz (1914–1995), USA, pioneer of ocean floor spreading
• Ignacio Domeyko (1802-1889), Chilean geologist and mineralogist of Polish descent; Author of numerous works on the geology and mineralogy of Chile
• Paul Dorn (geologist) (1901–1959), author of the geology of Central Europe
• Aleksis Dreimanis (1914–2011), Latvia and Canada, Quaternary geologist , recipient of several awards
• Alexander Du Toit (1878–1948), South African geologist, supporter of continental drift , comparative studies on South Africa-South America
• Clarence Dutton (1841-1912), USA, author of Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District , introduced the concept of isostasy a

E.

Arnold Escher from Linth

• László Egyed (1914–1970), Hungarian geophysicist, founder of the expansion theory of the earth
• Niles Eldredge (* 1943), American paleontologist ; Punctualism theory
• Jean-Baptiste Léonce Élie de Beaumont (1798–1874), France, created the first geological map of France
• W. Gary Ernst (* 1931), USA, petrologist and geochemist from Stanford University
• Arnold Escher von der Linth (1807–1872), Swiss geologist, recognized the Glarus thrust
• Robert Etheridge Jr. (1847–1920), Australian (born English) paleontologist , longtime curator of the Australian Museum
• James Alfred Ewing (1855–1935), Scottish physicist and engineer, earthquake research, developed seismographs
• Maurice Ewing (1906–1974), USA, groundbreaking innovations in geophysics and oceanography

F.

Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond

• Paul Fallot (1889–1960), French geologist and paleontologist, holder of the Leopold von Buch plaque
• Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond (1741–1819), France, pioneer in the field of volcanology
• William George Fearnsides (1879–1968), British economic geologist and tectonist, conducted extensive studies in the Carboniferous and Paleozoic Great Britain
• Konstantin Matwejewitsch Feofilaktow (1818–1901); Russian geologist, researched the geology of Ukraine
• Osmond Fisher (1817–1914), British clergyman and geophysicist, postulated convection currents
• Robert L. Folk (1925-2018), American geologist and sedimentary petrologist , created the folk classification for carbonate rocks , author of the standard work Petrology of Sedimentary Rocks
• Richard Fortey (* 1946), England, trilobite paleontologist , writer
• Gerald M. Friedman (1921–2011), German / American geologist and sedimentologist , major work on carbonate rocks , co-author of Principles of Sedimentology
• Georg Christian Füchsel (1722–1773), German geologist, advocate of actualism and one of the founders of stratigraphy, drew the first geological map in Germany (Thuringia) in 1762
• William Sefton Fyfe (1927–2013, New Zealand), Canada, geochemist

G

Grove Karl Gilbert

• Robert Minard Garrels (1916–1988), American geochemist , revolutionized wet geochemistry
• Gerard Jakob De Geer (1858–1943), Swedish geologist, used the Warventon method to date the ice retreat in Scandinavia
• Sir Archibald Geikie (1835-1924), British geologist
• James Geikie (1839–1915), British geologist, brother of Archibald Geikie and known for his ice age research
• Conrad Gessner (1516–1565), Swiss physician and naturalist, wrote a treatise on minerals
• Grove Karl Gilbert (1843–1918), USA, influential geologist of the American West
• James Edward Gill (1901–1980), Canada, Professor at McGill University , explorer
• Friedrich Gottlob Gläser (1749–1804), German mining engineer, used next to Christian Hieronymus Lommer as one of the first colors in a geological map
• Heinrich Göppert (1800–1884), German doctor, palaeobotanist, investigations into the coal deposits of Silesia
• Victor Moritz Goldschmidt (1888–1947), Norway (born in Switzerland), one of the founders of modern geochemistry
• Amadeus William Grabau (1870–1946), German-American paleontologist and geologist, mapping of China , theories on rhythms in the growth of the earth's crust and on mountain formation
• Alexander Henry Green (1832–1896), England, geological mapping of Derbyshire and Yorkshire
• George Bellas Greenough (1778–1855), English geologist, founder of the Geological Society of London , geological map of England , geological map of India 1854
• Amanz gressly (1814-1865), Swiss geologist and paleontologist, introduced the term facies one
• Sir Richard John Griffith (1784–1878), Irish geologist, published the geological map of Ireland in 1838
• David Tressel Griggs (1911–1974), American geophysicist, works on convection currents
• Frank Fitch Grout (1880-1958), American Petrologe, conducted experiments to diapirs by
• Carl Wilhelm von Gümbel (1823–1898), German geologist, researched the geology of Bavaria
• Jean-Étienne Guettard (1715–1786), French naturalist, created the first mineralogical-geological map (northwestern France and southern England) in 1746 together with Philippe Buache
• Beno Gutenberg (1889–1960), German-American seismologist , discoverer of the asthenosphere and the core-mantle boundary

H

James Hutton

• Julius von Haast (1822–1887), New Zealand (born German), founder of the Canterbury Museum
• Sir James Hall (1761–1832), Scottish geologist, President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
• James Hall (1811–1898), USA, influential geologist and paleontologist, principle of the geosyncline
• Alfred Harker (1859-1939), English petrographer and Petrologe, extensive petrological studies in the west of Scotland led the eponymous diagrams a
• W. Brian Harland (1917-2003), England, polar geologist
• Émile Haug (1861–1927), Alsatian geologist, contributions to geosynclinal theory
• James Edwin Hawley (1897–1965), Canada, studied the mineralogy of ore deposits
• Frank Hawthorne (* 1946), Canadian mineralogist and crystallographer
• Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (1829–1887), USA, pioneer of geology in the American West
• Bruce C. Heezen (1924–1977), American geologist, was the first to map the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
• Albert Heim (1849–1937), Swiss geologist, works on faults and fold thrusts
• Harry Hammond Hess (1906–1969), American geologist and oceanographer
• Henry Hicks (1837–1899), FRS , President of the Geological Society .
• Eugene W. Hilgard (1833–1916), USA (born German), soil scientist
• Paul F. Hoffman (* 1941), USA and Canada, developed the hypothesis of the snowball earth
• Arthur Holmes (1890–1965), England, author of Principles of Physical Geology
• Robert Hooke (1635–1703), English physicist and mathematician, pioneer of microscopic research, law of elasticity
• William Hopkins (1793–1866), English mathematician, physicist and geologist, founder of physical geology, denied a liquid interior of the earth below the crust
• Walter Hoppe (geologist) (1896–1976), German geologist and mineralogist, researcher of the hydrology of Thuringia
• Kenneth Jinghwa Hsü (* 1929), USA (native Chinese), author of The Mediterranean was a Desert (Hypothesis of the drying up of the Mediterranean)
• M. King Hubbert (1903–1989), USA, founded the theory of the " global oil production maximum "
• Thomas Sterry Hunt (1826–1892), American geologist and chemist, was the first to point out the dependence of climatic changes on atmospheric CO ₂ content
• James Hutton (1726–1797), Scottish geologist, father of modern geology (father of modern geology)

I.

• Joseph Paxson Iddings (1857–1920), American petrologist, co-founder of the CIPW standard
• John Imbrie (1925–2016), paleoclimatologist, confirmation of the Milankovic theory of the ice ages. MacArthur Fellow .
• Edward A. Irving (1927–2014), Canadian, used paleomagnetic methods to detect continental drift

J

David A. Johnston on Mount St. Helens , May 17, 1980

• Harold Jeffreys (1891–1989), English statistician and seismologist, provided evidence of a liquid outer core of the earth
• Ivan Jefremow (1908–1972), Soviet paleontologist and founder of taphonomy
• Albert Johannsen (1871–1962), American architect, geologist and petrograph , author of the monumental four-volume petrographic textbook A descriptive petrography of the igneous rocks
• David A. Johnston (1949-1980), USA, volcanologist, came the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens killed
• John Joly (1857–1933), Irish geologist and naturalist, studied radioactive decay in minerals
• Franc Joubin (1911–1997), Canada (* in the USA), discoverer of the uranium deposit at Elliot Lake

K

Alexander Count Keyserling

• Emanuel Kayser (1845–1927), German geologist and paleontologist, author of the world's leading four-volume "Textbook of Geology" at the time; first sponsor and geological support of Alfred Wegener's continental drift theory; Dispute about CO ₂ levels in the atmosphere and climate change
• William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), British physicist, Earth Age estimation
• Alexander Keyserling (1815-1891), founder of the geology of Russia
• Clarence King (1842–1901), USA, first director of the US Geological Survey
• Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), German natural historian and doctor, fossil studies
• James Kitching (1922–2003), South Africa, Karoo Vertebrate Paleontologist
• Sir Albert Ernest Kitson (1868–1937), Australian (born English) economic geologist, mineral prospecting in Africa
• Maria Wassiljewna Kljonowa (Klenova) (1898–1976), Russian marine geologist
• Lauge Koch (1892–1964), Danish geologist, mapped parts of Greenland
• Ralph von Koenigswald (1902–1982), German / Dutch geologist, examined the Java man
• Andrew H. Knoll (* 1951), USA, geologist and paleontologist from Harvard University
• Leon Knopoff (1925–2011), USA, theoretical seismology
• Katia Krafft (1942–1991), French volcanologist and documentary filmmaker
• Maurice Krafft (1946–1991), French volcanologist and documentary filmmaker
• Danie G. Krige (1919–2013), South African mining engineer , inventor of kriging
• MS Krishnan (1898–1970), Indian geologist
• Thomas Edvard Krogh (1936–2008), Canada, geochronologist , revolutionized the uranium-lead method for radiometric dating
• William C. Krumbein (1902–1979), USA, recognized sedimentologist

L.

Joseph LeConte

• Alfred Lacroix (1863-1948), French mineralogist and geologist, published a treatise on the mineralogy of France, volcanic studies
• Charles Lapworth (1842–1920), English geologist, established the Ordovician , pioneering use of guide fossils
• Andrew Cowper Lawson (1861–1952), USA (* in Scotland), recognized and named the San Andreas Fault
• Richard Leakey (* 1944), Kenyan paleontologist
• Joseph LeConte (1823–1901), USA, first professor of geology at the University of California
• Robert Legget (1904–1994), Canadian writer, engineer and soil scientist
• Inge Lehmann (1888–1993), Danish seismologist, discoverer of the Lehmann discontinuity
• Johannes Lehmann-Hohenberg (1851–1925), German mineralogist and geologist, the formation process of metamorphic rocks, worked in the Saxon granulite mountains
• Johann Gottlob Lehmann (1719–1767), German geologist and mineralogist, is considered the founder of stratigraphy
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), German philosopher and polymath, his theory of the earth appeared posthumously as Protogaea
• Luna B. Leopold (1915-2006), eminent American hydrologist
• Xavier Le Pichon (* 1937), French plate tectonist , geophysicist
• Waldemar Lindgren (1860–1939), recognized Swedish / American geologist and mineralogist.

• Li Shizhen (1518–1593), Chinese mineralogist from the Ming dynasty, author of the Ben cao gang mu
• Martin Lister (1639–1712), England, pioneer of geology
• William Edmond Logan (1798–1875), Canada, founded the Geological Survey of Canada
• James Lovelock (* 1919), English scientist, inventor of the Gaia hypothesis
• Sir Charles Lyell (1797–1875), Scottish geologist, popularized actualism , established the Eocene , Miocene , Pleistocene and Pliocene

M.

Andrija Mohorovičić , around 1880

• John MacCulloch (1773–1835), Scottish geologist, created the first geological map of Scotland (published posthumously in 1836)
• J. Ross Mackay (1915-2014), Canadian permafrost geologist
• William Maclure (1763–1840), published the first geological map of the USA (1809)
• Johann Christian Mahr (1787–1869), geologist and friend of Goethe
• Benoît de Maillet (1656–1738), French diplomat, developed an evolutionist theory of the earth and postulated a very old age
• Othniel Charles Marsh (1831–1899), USA, pioneer of dinosaur paleontology, opponent of the Bone Wars
• Kirtley Fletcher Mather (1888–1978) American petrogeologist and mineralogist, long-term professor at Harvard
• Drummond Matthews (1931–1997), British marine geologist and geophysicist, pioneer of plate tectonics
• Sir Douglas Mawson (1882-1958), Australian Antarctic explorer
• Sir Frederick McCoy (1817–1899), British and Australian paleontologist and museum director
• Dan McKenzie (* 1942), British geophysicist , pioneer of plate tectonics
• Digby McLaren (1919-2004), Canadian paleontologist
• Giuseppe Mercalli (1850–1914), Italian seismologist and volcanologist , developed the Mercallis scale to estimate the magnitude of the earthquake
• Hans Merensky (1871–1952), South African economic geologist, discovered important diamond, platinum, chrome and copper deposits, including the Merensky Reef
• John C. Merriam (1869–1945), USA, vertebrate paleontologist, examined fossils from the La Brea Tar Pits
• Auguste Michel-Lévy (1844–1911), French geologist, works on granites and neighboring metamorphic rocks
• John Michell (1724–1793), clergyman and professor at Cambridge, co-founder of seismology
• Gerard V. Middleton (* 1931), Canadian sedimentologist
• Milutin Milanković (1879–1958), Serbian astrophysicist and mathematician, established the connection between the earth's radiation balance and the ice ages
• Ludger Mintrop (1880–1956), founder of reflection seismics, for example in oil exploration
• Andrija Mohorovičić (1857–1936), Croatian meteorologist and seismologist , discoverer of the Mohorovičić discontinuity
• Friedrich Mohs (1773–1839), Germany, devised the Mohs hardness scale
• James Monger , Canadian Cordilleran Geologist
• W. Jason Morgan (* 1935), American pioneer of plate tectonics
• Anton Lazzaro Moro (1687–1764), Italian clergyman and early follower of Plutonism
• Roderick Murchison (1792–1871), Scotland, author of The Silurian System (1839), established the Devonian , Cambrian , Permian, and Silurian
• Emiliano Mutti (* 1933), Italian petroleum geologist

N

Sir Isaac Newton

• Carl Friedrich Naumann (1797–1873), German geologist and crystallographer, created the first geological map of Saxony , the theory of inland freezing
• ER Ward Neale (1923–2008), Canadian geologist of the Atlantic Provinces
• Melchior Neumayr (1845–1890), German / Austrian paleontologist, worked on ammonites of the Jura and the Cretaceous, mapping in Greece and the Aegean
• John Strong Newberry (1822–1892), USA, explorer and geologist of the American West
• Isaac Newton (1643–1727), English philosopher and scientist, recognized the flattening of the earth
• William Nicol (1768–1851), Scottish naturalist, first use of thin sections in microscopy, generation of polarized light
• Adolphe Nicolas (1936–2020), French geologist, important tectonist, works on the deformation of mantle rocks
• Paul Niggli (1888–1953), Swiss geoscientist and crystallographer, introduced the Niggli values for rock normalization, important contributions to crystallography ( Niggli formula , term of the lattice complex )
• Stephen Robert Nockolds (1909–1990), petrologist, FRS and recipient of the Murchison Medal
• Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld (1792–1866), Finnish / Russian mineralogist

O

Albert Oppel

• Rudolf Oberhauser (1926–2008), Austrian micropalaeontologist and geologist, editor of the standard work The Geological Structure of Austria
• Hans Oeschger (1927–1998), Swiss climatologist, pioneer in researching Quaternary ice cores , co-discoverer of the Dansgaard-Oeschger events
• Richard Dixon Oldham (1858–1936), Irish geophysicist and geologist, was able to differentiate between P and S waves and assumed the existence of a liquid core
• Thomas Oldham (1816–1878) Irish geologist, first director of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) , founded the journal Palaeontographica Indica at GSI
• Jean Baptiste Julien d'Omalius d'Halloy (1783–1875), Belgian politician and geologist, first geological map of France. He coined the term chalk .
• Albert Oppel (1831–1865), German paleontologist and stratigraph, conducted studies in the law
• Alcide d'Orbigny (1802–1857), French paleontologist and zoologist, studies on foraminifera , father of micropaleontology
• Carl Alfred Osann (1859–1923), German mineralogist and petrologist, petrographic work on igneous rocks, developed the ACF diagram for rock classification
• Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857–1935), American geologist and paleontologist
• John Ostrom (1928–2005), American dinosaur paleontologist, discoverer of the homoiothermic Deinonychus
• David Dale Owen (1807–1860), American geologist, first geological surveys in the states of Indiana, Kentucky and Arkansas
• Richard Owen (1804-1892), British zoologist and paleontologist, coined the term dinosaur

P

Albrecht Penck

• Werner Paeckelmann (1890–1952), German geologist, paleontologist and map-maker in the Rhenish Slate Mountains
• Pierre Bernard Palassou (1745-1830), French geologist, created mineralogical maps of the Pyrenees
• Peter Simon Pallas (1741–1811), German naturalist and geographer , geological interpretation of the Urals , after him the Pallasites were named
• Clair Cameron Patterson (1922–1995), USA, geochemist, fought against lead poisoning
• Albrecht Penck (1858–1945), German geomorphologist, examined the inland ice masses in Northern Germany
• Walther Penck (1888–1923), German geomorphologist, son of Albrecht Penck, studied the tectonic and erosive effects on geomorphology
• Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose, Jr. (1863–1931), United States, mining geologist, Penrose Medal donor
• Francis John Pettijohn (1904–1999), USA, sedimentologist
• John Phillips (1800–1874), Yorkshire geologist
• John Arthur Phillips (1822-1887), FRS, Cornwall geologist, metallurgist and mining engineer
• Wallace S. Pitcher (1919-2004), British petrologist and eminent granite researcher
• Walter C. Pitman (1931–2019), American engineer and geophysicist, pioneer of plate tectonics , was able to demonstrate the symmetry of the magnetic stripe pattern on the mid-ocean ridge
• Robert Plot (1640–1696), English naturalist and chemist, researching minerals
• John Wesley Powell (1834–1902), United States, former soldier, mapped the Colorado River , second director of the USGS .
• John Henry Pratt (1809–1871), English theologian and mathematician, theory of isostatic balance
• Frank Press (1924-2020), American geophysicist
• Joseph Prestwich (1812-1896), British geologist; probably the last major proponent of catastrophic notions in 19th century geology
• Raymond A. Price (* 1933), Canadian tectonist
• Raphael Pumpelly (1837-1923), USA, geologist and explorer

Q

• Friedrich August von Quenstedt (1809–1889), German paleontologist and geologist, structure of the Jura
• Terence Thomas Quirke (1886–1947), English / American geologist, conducted extensive studies in the Precambrian of Ontario

R.

Charles Richter , around 1971

• Paul Ramdohr (1890–1985), German mineralogist and deposit researcher , pioneer of ore microscopy
• John G. Ramsay (* 1931), British tectonist, important work on the Caledonids of Scotland , author of several standard works on tectonics
• Frederick Leslie Ransome (1868–1935), USA (born English), outstanding economic geologist at the USGS
• David M. Raup (1933–2015), USA, paleontologist , specialist in mass extinction; Author of Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck?
• Herbert Harold Read (1889–1970), English petrologist, important work on metamorphic rocks and the origin of granite
• Hans-Erich Reineck (1918–1999), German geologist and sedimentologist, extensive work in the Wadden Sea , invented the box gripper, author of the standard work Depositional Sedimentary Environments
• Charles Francis Richter (1900–1985), American seismologist, inventor of the Richter scale for earthquakes
• Ferdinand von Richthofen (1833–1905), German geologist and geographer
• Andrés Manuel del Río (1764–1849), Spanish / Mexican mineralogist , discoverer of vanadium
• Ralph J. Roberts (1911-2007), American geologist
• Alfred Romer (1894–1973), American paleontologist, made significant contributions to the development of vertebrates
• Karl Heinrich Rosenbusch (1836–1914), German mineralogist, petrograph and geologist, developed the first petrographic microscope made in Germany
• Stanley Keith Runcorn (1922–1995), British / American geophysicist and pioneer of plate tectonics

S.

William Smith , father of English geology

• Wolfgang Sartorius von Waltershausen (1809–1876), German geologist, studies on Etna and in Iceland , theory of magma formation
• Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740–1799), Swiss naturalist and botanist, founder of modern alpine research
• Harrison Schmitt (* 1935), USA, first geologist on the moon ( Apollo 17 )
• Martin Schwarzbach (1907-2003), German paleoclimatologist
• Jakob Johannes Sederholm (1863–1934), Finnish petrologist, works on Rapakivi granite and migmatite
• Adam Sedgwick (1785–1873), England, established the Devonian and Cambrian periods
• Nicholas Shackleton (1937-2006), British geologist and climatologist
• Shen Kuo (1031-1095), Chinese polymath , pioneer of the magnetic compass , theoretical geomorphology
• Eugene Merle Shoemaker (1928–1997), USA, meteorite researcher, co-discoverer of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
• Raymond Siever (1923-2004), American sedimentologist
• Haraldur Sigurðsson (* 1939), Icelandic geologist, volcanologist and oceanologist
• George Gaylord Simpson (1902–1984), USA, outstanding palaeontologist
• Ulbo de Sitter (1902–1980), Dutch geologist, investigations in the Alps and the Pyrenees
• William Smith (1769–1839), founding father of English geology
• Su Song (1020-1101), Chinese naturalist and polymath , wrote treatises on metallurgy and mineralogy
• Henry Clifton Sorby (1826–1908), English naturalist, is considered to be the founder of sedimentology , the mechanical origin of foliation
• Gustav Steinmann (1856–1929), German geologist, described the common occurrence of silica sediments, red deep sea clay and pillow basalts in the Alps ( Steinmann Trinity )
• Alfred Wilhelm Stelzner (1840–1895), German geologist, professor at the Bergakademie Freiberg
• Nicolaus Steno (1638–1686), Denmark, pioneer of modern geology
• Hans Stille (1876–1966), German geologist, professor in Berlin. Geotectonics and mountain building. Opponent of Alfred Wegener.
• Otto Stutzer (1881–1936), German geologist, professor at the Bergakademie Freiberg
• Eduard Suess (1831–1914), Austria (* in England), principle of eustasy , tectonics of the Alps, created the terms Tethys and Gondwana

T

• Haroun Tazieff (1914–1998), French politician and volcanologist, documentaries about volcanic eruptions
• Paul Tapponnier (* 1947), French tectonist especially from Asia. Use of satellites for tectonic surveys.
• Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), French paleontologist and philosopher, co-discoverer of the Peking man
• Pierre-Marie Termier (1859–1930), French geologist, proponent of ceiling theory , explanation of the Tauern window
• Karl von Terzaghi (1883–1963), Austrian geologist and engineer, is considered the founding father of soil mechanics
• Marie Tharp (1920–2006), co-discoverer of the mid-ocean ridge
• Lonnie Thompson (born 1948), USA, glaciologist and ice core - climatologist
• Raymond Thorsteinsson (1921–2012), Canada, Arctic geologist
• Phillip Tobias (1925–2012), South African paleanthropologist , pioneer of Homo habilis
• Alexander Tollmann (1928–2007), Austrian geologist and politician, Eastern Alps expert
• Otto Martin Torell (1828–1900), head of the Geological Survey of Sweden
• Wilhelm Toussaint von Charpentier (1779–1847), German geologist and entomologist, mining writings, colored geological map of Saxony
• Rudolf Trümpy (1921–2009), Swiss alpine geologist, recipient of the Wollaston and Penrose medals
• Francis John Turner (1904–1985), New Zealand, petrologist of igneous and metamorphic rocks
• Orville Frank Tuttle (1916–1983), American petrologist, pioneer of apparatus in experimental petrology, granite research
• Joseph Tyrrell (1858–1957), Canadian paleontologist , the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology was named after him

U

• Jan Umbgrove (1899–1954), Dutch geologist, studied the paleogeography of the Dutch East Indies

V

Felix Andries Vening Meinesz

• Peter Vail (* 1930), American geologist, initiated sequence stratigraphy
• Charles Louis de la Vallée-Poussin (1827–1903), Belgian geologist and mineralogist
• Jan Veizer (* 1941), Canadian isotope geochemist
• Ignaz Venetz (1788–1859), Swiss engineer, botanist and glaciologist, co-founder of the Ice Age theory
• Felix Andries Vening Meinesz (1887–1966), Dutch geophysicist and specialist in gravimetric geodesy
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian painter, sculptor, architect and natural philosopher. Explanation of fossil formation.
• Frederick Vine (* 1939), British marine geologist, geophysicist and pioneer of plate tectonics
• Wolf von Engelhardt (1910–2008), German geologist and mineralogist, worked in the unfolded molasse on the northern edge of the Alps, co-author of sediment petrology

W.

Alfred Wegener , around 1925

• Kiyoo Wadati (1902–1995), Japanese seismologist, first discoverer of the Wadati-Benioff zone
• Lawrence Wager (1904–1965), British geologist and explorer, discoverer of the Skaergaard intrusion
• Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850–1927), American paleontologist , explorer of the fauna of the Burgess Shale
• Gerald Joseph Wasserburg (1927–2016), American geologist, did important work in the field of isotope geochemistry, cosmochemistry and meteorology
• Thomas Webster (1773–1844), Scottish architect and geologist, works in the London Basin and the Hampshire Basin , beginning of historical geology
• Karl Hans Wedepohl (1925–2016), German geochemist, distribution of elements in the earth's crust
• Alfred Wegener (1880–1930), German meteorologist , pioneer of continental drift
• César Eugène Wegmann (1896–1982), Swiss geologist, formation of granites through migmatization
• Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749–1817), Germany, founder of Neptunism
• Wladimir Ivanovich Wernadski (1863–1945), Russian pioneer of geochemistry and biogeochemistry
• Josiah Whitney (1819-1896), chief of the California Geological Survey , Mt. Whitney was named after him
• Emil Wiechert (1861–1928), German geophysicist and seismologist, professor in Göttingen
• Harold Williams (1934-2010), geologist for the Atlantic Provinces
• Howell Williams (1898–1980), American (born English) volcanologist
• Bailey Willis (1857–1949), American geologist, attempted explanation of the formation of the Appalachians
• John Tuzo Wilson (1908-1993), Canadian geophysicist and plate tectonist, works on hot spots , the Wilson cycle was named after him
• Paul Woldstedt (1888–1973), German Quaternary researcher

Y

• Had S. Yoder , Jr. (1921-2003), American petrologist and geochemist, experimentally conducted petrological studies under high pressure-high temperature conditions

Z

Karl Bernhard Zoeppritz

• Peter A. Ziegler (1928–2013), Swiss exploration geologist, examined the influence of tectonics on sedimentation
• Ferdinand Zirkel (1838–1912), German geologist, pioneer in the microscopic examination of minerals and rocks
• Karl Zoeppritz (1881–1908), German geophysicist, did important seismological work
• Henk Zwart (1924–2012), Dutch tectonist, investigation of ore formation processes

See also

• List of paleontologists

literature

• David R. Oldroyd: The Biography of the Earth. On the history of science in geology. Zweiausendeins, Frankfurt am Main 1998, ISBN 3-86150-285-2 .

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