The Most Famous
GEOLOGISTS from Germany
This page contains a list of the greatest German Geologists. The pantheon dataset contains 59 Geologists, 8 of which were born in Germany. This makes Germany the birth place of the 3rd most number of Geologists behind United Kingdom and United States.
Top 8
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary German Geologists of all time. This list of famous German Geologists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Alfred Wegener (1880 - 1930)
With an HPI of 75.26, Alfred Wegener is the most famous German Geologist. His biography has been translated into 72 different languages on wikipedia.
Alfred Lothar Wegener (; German: [ˈʔalfʁeːt ˈveːɡənɐ]; 1 November 1880 – November 1930) was a German climatologist, geologist, geophysicist, meteorologist, and polar researcher. During his lifetime he was primarily known for his achievements in meteorology and as a pioneer of polar research, but today he is most remembered as the originator of continental drift hypothesis by suggesting in 1912 that the continents are slowly drifting around the Earth (German: Kontinentalverschiebung). His hypothesis was not accepted by mainstream geology until the 1950s, when numerous discoveries such as palaeomagnetism provided strong support for continental drift, and thereby a substantial basis for today's model of plate tectonics. Wegener was involved in several expeditions to Greenland to study polar air circulation before the existence of the jet stream was accepted. Expedition participants made many meteorological observations and were the first to overwinter on the inland Greenland ice sheet and the first to bore ice cores on a moving Arctic glacier.
2. Friedrich Mohs (1773 - 1839)
With an HPI of 63.41, Friedrich Mohs is the 2nd most famous German Geologist. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.
Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs (German: [moːs]; 29 January 1773 – 29 September 1839) was a German chemist and mineralogist. He was the creator of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Mohs also introduced a classification of the crystal forms in crystal systems independently of Christian Samuel Weiss.
3. Beno Gutenberg (1889 - 1960)
With an HPI of 59.12, Beno Gutenberg is the 3rd most famous German Geologist. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Beno Gutenberg (; June 4, 1889 – January 25, 1960) was a German-American seismologist who made several important contributions to the science. He was a colleague and mentor of Charles Francis Richter at the California Institute of Technology and Richter's collaborator in developing the Richter magnitude scale for measuring an earthquake's magnitude.
4. Christian Leopold von Buch (1774 - 1853)
With an HPI of 56.68, Christian Leopold von Buch is the 4th most famous German Geologist. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.
Christian Leopold von Buch (26 April 1774 – 4 March 1853), usually cited as Leopold von Buch, was a German geologist and paleontologist born in Stolpe an der Oder (now a part of Angermünde, Brandenburg) and is remembered as one of the most important contributors to geology in the first half of the nineteenth century. His scientific interest was devoted to a broad spectrum of geological topics: volcanism, petrology, fossils, stratigraphy and mountain formation. His most remembered accomplishment is the scientific definition of the Jurassic system.
5. Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann (1797 - 1873)
With an HPI of 50.50, Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann is the 5th most famous German Geologist. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann (30 May 1797 – 26 November 1873), also known as Karl Friedrich Naumann, was a German mineralogist and geologist. The crater Naumann on the Moon is named after him.
6. Julius von Haast (1822 - 1887)
With an HPI of 48.20, Julius von Haast is the 6th most famous German Geologist. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (1 May 1822 – 16 August 1887) was a German-born New Zealand explorer, geologist, and founder of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch.
7. Ferdinand Zirkel (1838 - 1912)
With an HPI of 47.65, Ferdinand Zirkel is the 7th most famous German Geologist. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Prof Ferdinand Zirkel FRS(For) HFRSE (20 May 1838 – 11 June 1912) was a German geologist and petrographer.
8. Oskar Lenz (1848 - 1925)
With an HPI of 47.03, Oskar Lenz is the 8th most famous German Geologist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Oskar Lenz (13 April 1848 in Leipzig – 1 March 1925 in Sooß) was a German-Austrian geologist and mineralogist born in Leipzig.
Pantheon has 8 people classified as geologists born between 1773 and 1889. Of these 8, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased geologists include Alfred Wegener, Friedrich Mohs, and Beno Gutenberg. As of April 2022, 1 new geologists have been added to Pantheon including Oskar Lenz.
Deceased Geologists
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Alfred Wegener
1880 - 1930
HPI: 75.26
Friedrich Mohs
1773 - 1839
HPI: 63.41
Beno Gutenberg
1889 - 1960
HPI: 59.12
Christian Leopold von Buch
1774 - 1853
HPI: 56.68
Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann
1797 - 1873
HPI: 50.50
Julius von Haast
1822 - 1887
HPI: 48.20
Ferdinand Zirkel
1838 - 1912
HPI: 47.65
Oskar Lenz
1848 - 1925
HPI: 47.03
Newly Added Geologists (2022)
Go to all RankingsWhich Geologists were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 7 most globally memorable Geologists since 1700.
