OBITUARY NOTICES. 



FREDERICK AUGUSTUS GENTH. 

 {Read December 6, 1901.) 



One of the sciences in which this country has made itself dis- 

 tinguished, especially upon the chemical side, is the science of 

 mineralogy. In proof of this it is necessary only to mention the 

 names of Dana, of Lawrence Smith, of Sterry Hunt, of Brush, of 

 Shepard, of Cooke and of Genth. Among these eminent men, 

 perhaps none of them devoted himself with more assiduity to this 

 science than did our late colleague, Prof. Dr. Genth. 



Friedrich August Ludwig Karl Wilhelm Genth was born in the 

 village of Waechtersbach, in Hesse, on May 17, 1820. On his 

 father's side, his family was 2hi old Hesse-Nassau family, most of 

 whom resided in the vicinity of Wiesbaden. His father was Georg 

 Friedrich Genth, High Forester to Prince Issenbourg, and his 

 mother was Karoline Amalie Genth, her maiden name having been 

 Freyin von Schwarzenau. Her family lived in Darmstadt. 



From his earliest days young Genth was taught by his father to 

 take an interest in the phenomena of nature*; whereby his powers 

 of observation became developed and his enthusiasm awakened in 

 the natural sciences, especially in botany, mineralogy and geology. 

 He entered the Hanau Gymnasium at the age of sixteen, this insti- 

 tution being then under the direction of Dr. Schuppius. There he 

 remained for three years, graduating on the 26th of September, 

 1839, fully prepared for his university course. On the nth of 

 November following, he matriculated at the University of Heidel- 

 berg, and came under the instruction of Gmelin in chemistry, 

 Bischoffin botany, and Blum and Leonhard in geography, geology 

 and mineralogy, these being the sciences to which he had already 

 paid some attention. Owing to the pressure of family matters he 

 left Heidelberg in August, 1841, and in the following November 

 became a student in the University of Giessen, devoting himself 

 mainly to chemistry and studying under Fresenius and Kopp, and 

 particularly of Liebig. Ill health, however, compelled him to leave 

 Giessen in April, 1843. Subsequently, in May, 1844, he entered 



