Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich

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Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich bigraphy, stories - Mineralogist, geologist

Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich : biography

December 11, 1806 – July 1, 1886

Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich

Biography

He was born at Berlin and educated at the local university. His earliest scientific work is related to spinels and other minerals. Later he made special studies of fumaroles, of the mineral deposits around volcanic vents, and of the structure of volcanoes. In 1842 he was appointed professor of mineralogy in the university of Dorpat (Tartu), and henceforth gave attention to the geology and mineralogy of the Russian Empire. Residing for some time at Tiflis, he investigated the geology of the Armenian Highland (this term was introduced by Abich)Armenian identity in a changing world, Levon Abrahamian, Mazda Publishers, 2006 – p. 50 and Caucasus.Four Centuries of Geological Travel: edited by Patrick N. Wyse Jackson, p. 178 In 1844 and 1845 he ascended Ararat volcano several times, studied the geological event of 1840 that was centered on Ararat (Akori village). In 1877 he retired to Vienna, where he died. The mineral Abichite was named after him.

Publications

  • Vues illustratives de quelques phenomenes geologiques, prises sur le Vesuve et l’Etna, pendant les annees 1833 et 1834 (Berlin, 1836);
  • Ueber die Natur und den Zusammenhang der vulcanischen Bildungen (Brunswick, 1841);
  • Geologische Forschungen in den Kaukasischen Ländern (3 vols., Vienna, 1878, 1882, and 1887).