412 F. W. Simonds — Life of Dr. Ferdinand von Roemer. 



VIII. — A Geologist of the last Century. 



Dr. Ferdinand von Eoemer, the Father of the Geology of 



Texas : his Life and Work.^ 



By Feedebic W. Simonds, Austin, Texas. 



(WITH A POETEAIT, PLATE XIX.) 



FEEDINAND EOEMER, who has justly been called the "Father 

 of the Geology of Texas," was born at Hildesheim, Hanover, 

 on January 5th, 1818. His early education was obtained at the 

 Gymnasium Andreanura of that town, where, under the influence 

 of his teacher. Dr. Muhlert, he developed a great fondness for 

 science, especially in the line of natural history. His love of 

 geology, however, was strongly developed by excursions with his 

 eldest brother, F. A. Eoemer, Frederic Hoffmann, and F. A. Quenstedt. 

 Notwithstanding his predilection in this direction, he was induced 

 by his brother, probably with the view of entering a well-established 

 profession, to undertake the study of law. Accordingly, from 1836 

 to 1839 he was engaged in attending legal instruction at Gottingen, 

 with the exception of the Summer semester of 1838, which was 

 spent at Heidelberg. Still, the attraction of science was well-nigh 

 irresistible. With the keenest pleasure he listened to Hausmann 

 on geognosy, and when at Heidelberg the zoological instruction of 

 Bronn was eagerly sought. His future calling was, however, to be 

 decided in favour of his natural bent. As he was about to present 

 himself for examination in the higher legal course, for political 

 reasons — although he himself was an innocent party — certain 

 difficulties were raised and he withdrew. Thus science gained 

 a brilliant scholar and geology a zealous investigator. 



Going to Berlin (1840) he came within the influence of such men 

 as Weiss in mineralogy, von Dechen in geology, especially that of 

 Germany, Gustav Eose in geognosy and mineralogy, Mitscherlich 

 and H. Eose in chemistry, von Lichtenstein in zoology, Johannes 

 Miiller in anatomy and physiology, Dove in physics, and Stefi"ens in 

 anthropology. 



On May 10th, 1842, he received the degree of Doctor of Philo- 

 sophy, having presented a palaeontological dissertation entitled " De 

 Astartarum genere et speciebus quae e saxis iurassicis et cretaceis 

 proveniunt." 



The time spent at Berlin had an important bearing upon his 

 future in still another direction. It was here that an intimate 

 friendship sprang up between him and von Dechen, Beyrich, and 

 Ewald, and his intercourse with them led, on his part, to a wider 

 comprehension of geology and a better understanding of the methods 

 to be pursued in research. About this time he became engaged in 

 a series of investigations in the Ehenish mountains which covered 

 the Summer season of several years. The results of this .work were 

 published in 1844, under the title "Das rheinische Ubergangs- 

 gebirge. Fine palaeontologisch-geognostische Darstellung." The 



I Reprinted by kind permission of the Editor, Dr. N. H. Winchell, from The 

 American Geologist, vol. xxix, March, 1902. 



