The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Werner, Abraham Gottlob

WERNER, Abraham Gottlob, a Germanmineralogist, born at Wehrau, Upper Lusatia, Sept.25, 1750, died in Dresden, June 30, 1817. Hecompleted his studies at Freiberg and Leipsic,and from 1775 till his death was professor ofmineralogy and geology at the Freiberg miningacademy. He was early regarded as the firstmineralogist of his time, and his lectures wereattended by great numbers of students from allparts of Europe. He opened separate coursesfor various branches of study, and in 1785 onerelating to geology, which he was the first toraise to the importance of a science by pointingout its application to the practical purposesof mining. As early as 1774 he had publishedVon den äusserlichen Kennzeichen der Fossilien(translated into French by Mme. Guyton deMorveau, Paris, 1790; into English by Weaverwith notes, Wernerian society, Edinburgh,1849-'50), which, though only a brief essay, wassaid by Cuvier to have revolutionized mineralogyby giving precision to the terminologyand classification of that science. (SeeMineralogy, vol. xi., p. 589.) His principles werewidely disseminated by his pupils, among whomwere Karsten and Robert Jameson, the latterof whom about 1845 established at Edinburghthe Wernerian society. Antagonistic views oncertain points were advocated by his contemporaryDr. Hutton of Edinburgh, and geologistswere long divided into the Wernerian andHuttonian parties. (See Geology, vol. vii.,pp. 688, 689.) He was never married. Hisfew works include Kurze Classification undBeschreibung der Gebirgsarten (Dresden, 1787),and his celebrated Neue Theorie über Entstehungder Gänge (Freiberg, 1791; translatedinto French by Daubuisson, Paris, 1803; intoEnglish by Charles Anderson, “New Theoryof the Formation of Veins, with itsApplication to the Art of Working Mines,” Edinburgh,1809). His collection and manuscripts cameinto the possession of the Freiberg academy.Cuvier's eulogy of him is included in his Élogeshistoriques, edited by Flourens (Paris, 1860).Sketches of his life have been written in Germanby Frisch (Leipsic, 1825), in Italian byConfigliachi (Padua, 1827), and in English bySir William Jardine for the “Naturalist'sLibrary” (Edinburgh, 1837).