Gustav Tschermak von Seysenegg (1836-1927) was an Austrian

Austrians

Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....

 mineralogist.

Biography

He was born 19 April 1836 in Littau

Litovel

Litovel is a town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 10,000 inhabitants. Litovel lies in Upper-Moravian Vale , 233 metres above the sea level. Thanks to its rich history Litovel has many historical monuments.-Demographics:Source: -Town Hall:The Town Hall lies on Přemysl...

, Olomouc District

Olomouc District

Olomouc District is a district within the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Olomouc.-Complete list of municipalities:Babice -Bělkovice-Lašťany -Bílá Lhota -Bílsko -Blatec -Bohuňovice -Bouzov -Bukovany -...

, Moravia

Moravia

Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

 and studied at the University of Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

 where he obtained a teaching degree. He studied mineralogy

Mineralogy

Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...

 at Heidelberg

Heidelberg

-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

 and Tübingen

Tübingen

Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...

 and obtained a PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

. He returned to Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 as a lecturer in mineralogy and chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

 and, in 1862 was appointed second vice curator of the Imperial Mineralogical Cabinet, becoming director in 1868. He resigned as director in 1877. He was also professor of petrography

Petrography

Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. Petrographic descriptions start with the field notes at the...

 at the University of Vienna. He was appointed professor in 1873 and a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...

 in 1905. He died on 24 May 1927.

Work

He did useful work on many minerals and on meteorite

Meteorite

A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...

s. The mineral tschermakite

Tschermakite

The endmember hornblende tschermakite is a calcium rich monoclinic amphibole mineral. It is frequently synthesized along with its ternary solid solution series members tremolite and cummingtonite so that the thermodynamic properties of its assemblage can be applied to solving other solid solution...

is named in his honour. In 1871 he established the Mineralogische Mitteilungen (Mineralogical Reports), published after 1878 as the Mineralogische und petrographische Mitteilungen (Mineralogical and Petrographical Reports). His publications include:

• Die Porphyrgesteine Oesterreichs (1869)
• Die mikroskopische Beschaffenheit der Meteoriten (1883)
• Lehrbuch der Mineralogie (1884; 5th ed. 1897)