Personalities in the history of the Bergakademie
Physicist; studied in Leipzig, Strasbourg and Würzburg; assistant to Nobel Prize winner Professor Ferdinand Braun in Strasbourg; Professor of Physics and Head of the Radium Institute at the Bergakademie from 1928 to 1942; developed radioactive measurement methods for detecting water, ore and minerals underground.
Geologist, studied in Freiburg i.Br. and Leipzig; made outstanding contributions to the geological mapping of Saxony; Professor of Geology, Deposits and Petrification at the Freiberg Mining Academy from 1895 to 1919; pioneering work in the field of deposit theory; honorary member of international professional societies; honorary doctorate from the University of Geneva, the Montanistische Hochschule Leoben and the University of Toronto.
Geologist; brother of the Saxon Minister President and later Austrian State Chancellor Count Ferdinand Friedrich von Beust; studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy from 1822, then in Göttingen and Leipzig; worked in the Saxon mining industry from 1830; 1842 curator of the mining academy; 1844 mining commissioner and blue colour works commissioner; 1851 until the dissolution of the Oberbergamt in 1869; co-founder of the Bergmännischer Verein (1841), the German Geological Society (1849) and the Freiberg Antiquities Society (1860).
Mineralogist; studied in Jena (under Döbereiner, Lenz and Oken) and from 1811 to 1813 at the Freiberg Mining Academy (under Werner); Professor of Mineralogy at the Mining Academy from 1826 to 1866; member of numerous academies and natural history societies; honorary doctorate from the Universities of Jena and Marburg; Honorary citizen of Zwickau; main work "Die Paragenesis der Mineralien" (1849); discovered over 46 new minerals; developed a new system of mineralogy based on isomorphism; introduced new names for crystal systems, such as tetragonal, hexagonal and rhombic.
Mechanical engineer; studied at the Mining Academy from 1797 to 1801; travelled abroad to study mechanical engineering; master of arts in 1811; Saxon engineering director in 1817; designed steam engines, water column engines and built the first iron railway for the Saxon mining industry.
On 26 April 1774, Christian Leopold von Buch was born near Angermünde (Uckermark). The son of the manor owner, Privy Councillor, Minister and Prussian envoy to the Saxon court, Adolf von Buch, studied at the Berlin Mining Academy in 1789 and then in Freiberg (1790 - 1793). Together with Alexander von Humboldt and Johann Carl Freiesleben, he was a pupil of Abraham Gottlob Werner. Buch later became a supporter of the theory of volcanism (directed against Werner's Neptunism) and coined the term "Leitfossil". Buch was one of the most important geologists and palaeontologists of his time. He died as a private scholar in Berlin in 1853.
Superior mining governor (1711-1714); as Abraham von Schönberg's deputy, was responsible for forestry (supplier to the mining industry); wrote Sylvicultura oeconomica, oder haußwirthliche Nachricht und Naturmäßige Anweisung zur wilden Baum-Zucht (1713), the first complete work on forestry and thus coined the concept of sustainability.
First teacher of mathematics, physics and mechanical sciences at the Bergakademie; also studied mining sciences as a student (1766-1767); member of the Freiberg Mining Board; merits for the introduction of the cold amalgamation process and the construction of the famous amalgamation plant in Halsbrücke (1787-1791); mining captain (1802)
Geologist; son of Tharandt Forestry Academy professor Heinrich von Cotta; studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy from 1827-31, then in Heidelberg and Tharandt; 1842-74 professor of geology and petrification; founder of ore deposit theory as a specialised discipline of geosciences; 1855 book "Die Lehre von den Erzlagerstätten"; numerous other scientific and popular books on ore deposit theory.
Philosopher, theologian and natural scientist; formulated a theory of the rainbow, among other things
Physicist; studied at the Bergakademie from 1858 to 1863; Professor of Physics at the Bergakademie from 1868 to 1912; after visiting the ground-breaking electrical engineering exhibition in Paris in 1881, he was one of the first professors in Germany to introduce electrical engineering as a subject at the Bergakademie and wrote fundamental books on the subject; Rector of the Bergakademie from 1907 to 1909
Kurt Richard Friedrich was a German metallurgist and professor who is considered an outstanding representative of metallurgical science in the early 20th century. His work was closely associated with the Freiberg Mining Academy.
Döring began his academic career shortly after graduating as an assistant to Professor Clemens Winkler at the Bergakademie's Chemical Laboratory.
Metallurgical chemist; brother of the fabulist Christian Fürchtegott Gellert; studied in Leipzig; teacher in St. Petersburg; Saxon chief metallurgical administrator in 1762; first teacher of "metallurgical chemistry" at the Bergakademie from 1766 to 1795.
Poet, studied in Jena, Leipzig and Wittenberg from 1790 to 1794; student at the Bergakademie from 1797 to 1801; pupil of Werner; poet's name "Novalis" originated in Freiberg; numerous early Romantic poems in Freiberg
Mary Hegeler (1861-1936) was a remarkable pioneer at a time when women were still largely denied access to technical and scientific degree programmes. As the daughter of the German-born industrialist Edward Carl Hegeler, who built up a successful zinc company in the USA, she was introduced to technology and mining at an early age. Her father, himself a graduate of the renowned Freiberg Mining Academy in Saxony, actively supported her education.
A German physician, mineralogist, metallurgist and chemist. Henckel first studied theology and then medicine in Jena from 1698. In 1709, he settled in Dresden as a doctor. He received his doctorate in 1711. From 1712 he moved to Freiberg. From 1718 to 1723, he worked there as a country, town, mining and metallurgical physicist. At this time, however, he was already increasingly involved in mineralogical and chemical research. Together with Christlieb Ehregott Gellert, he created the foundations for a teaching collection in order to make his mineralogical and chemical teaching more vivid and comprehensible. This teaching collection has become part of today's holdings of the Geosciences Collections in the Faculty of Geosciences, Geotechnics and Mining at the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology.
Son of the Weimar scholar and poet Johann Gottfried Herder; studied at the University of Jena, Freiberg Mining Academy (1797-1800) and Wittenberg; pupil of Werner and Charpentier; in the Saxon civil service from 1802, he rendered great services to the modernisation of Saxon mining; deputy mining chief in 1819; chief mining chief from 1826; as the highest official in the Saxon mining and metallurgy industry, he led it to new prosperity; Plan for an Elbe tunnel (later Rothschönberger Stolln) for the entire Freiberg mining district; introduces hard coal instead of charcoal into the Saxon metallurgical industry; founds the Antonshütte near Schwarzenberg in 1828; arranges for the publication of a calendar for Saxon miners and metallurgists in 1827 (from 1873 Yearbook for Mining and Metallurgy in Kgr. Saxony); patron of the arts, especially music and poetry; founded the Bergmusikverein in 1829; gravesite "Herders Ruh" designed by Heuchler.
Saxon mining commissioner general and co-founder of the Freiberg Mining Academy (together with ). His father Georg Ernst was an Electoral Saxon court and judicial councillor in the state government, inspector of the princely school in Meissen and member of the chamber, his mother was Sophie Dorothea von Hardenberg, the aunt of Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (Novalis). Educated at the Pforta country school, then studied natural sciences and forestry in Dresden as well as mining, metallurgy and saltworks in Freiberg and Kösen. 1747 employed by the Brunswick mining administration, 1762 appointed deputy mining captain. 1763 Appointed mining commissioner general and supreme head of mining, metallurgy and forestry in Electoral Saxony by Prince Xavier. Founding of the Freiberg Mining Academy in 1765/66 as part of a reform plan for mining and metallurgy (office of curator). Resigned from the Saxon civil service in 1774 due to disputes over responsibilities in the saltworks sector. 1777 Entered the Prussian civil service as Privy Minister of Budget, War and Conducting, Vice President and Chief Mining Officer at the Directorate-General of the Mining and Metallurgy Department, reorganisation of the Berlin Mining Academy. 1798 Involved in the founding of the Bauakademie.
Mining scientist; studied in Clausthal and at the TH Berlin-Charlottenburg, 1925 diploma in mining; 1928 doctorate at the TH Berlin-Charlottenburg; appointed full professor for "Organisation of Mining Operations" at the Freiberg Mining Academy on 01.10.1956; Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Economics; Rector of the Mining Academy from 1961 to 1963; played a major role in the expansion of the "Schwarze Pumpe" combine.
Scientist and geologist; studied in Frankfurt/Oder, Göttingen and Freiberg (1791-92) under Werner; temperature measurements underground in Freiberg mines; 1792-96 reorganisation of several mining districts as head miner; founding of the Steben mining school; from 1797 life and research trips as a private scholar; 1833 expert opinion for a tunnel project between Freiberg and Meissen. Alexander von Humboldt is considered the most famous student of the Freiberg Mining Academy.
Mining scientist; studied at the University of Berlin and from 1901 to 1904 at the Freiberg Mining Academy; mining practice and teacher at the mining school in Bochum; Professor of Mining Science in Freiberg from 1918 to 1950; introduced lectures on lignite mining; director of the mining technology department of the Lignite Research Institute; important specialist writer; considered the last polyhistor of mining science.
Mining scientist; studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy and the Technical Universities of Aachen and Berlin in 1924/25; doctorate in 1937, Professor of Mining Science at the TH Breslau from 1943 to 1945; appointed as Full Professor of Mineral Processing and Mining Science at the Freiberg Mining Academy in 1947; Dean of the Faculty of Mining and Metallurgy in 1949; Rector of the Mining Academy from 1953 to 1955; Director of the Research Institute for Mineral Processing, which he founded, until his retirement in 1971.
German poet and playwright. In 1808, he began his studies at the Freiberg Mining Academy and joined the then Landsmannschaft der Montanen, today's Corps Saxo-Montania. He was supported there by the geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner. Körner became famous for his songs in the fight for freedom against Napoleonic rule. After he fell as a "singer and hero" in the Lützow Free Corps, he became a patriotic figure of identification.
Worked as a lecturer in metallurgy from 1968 to 1991 and was appointed associate professor in 1978. This made her the first female professor at TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
Chemist; studied in Göttingen; 1794 to 1842 professor of chemistry and metallurgy (metallurgical chemistry) at the Bergakademie; 1796/97 establishment of the world's first university chemistry laboratory, long before Liebig in Giessen, at the Bergakademie Freiberg; discovery and realisation of carbon disulphide; * on the European continent in 1811/12 at his home in Fischerstraße in Freiberg and in 1815 at the amalgamation plant in Halsbrücke; versatile researcher and writer.
Ferrous metallurgist; studied at the Collegium Carolinum in Braunschweig from 1856 to 1858; first professor of ferrous metallurgy at the Bergakademie in 1874; established a laboratory for ferrous metallurgy in 1875; discovered iron-carbon mixed crystals ("ledeburite") in pig iron in 1882; 1896 to 1898 specialist consultant on iron metallurgy in Japan; 1899 to 1901 first elected rector of the Freiberg Mining Academy; author of numerous books on iron metallurgy, honorary member of several national professional associations.
Universal scholar, founder of Moscow University, regarded in Russia as a co-founder of metallurgy, geology and meteorology, geography and cartography, scientific chemistry as well as literature and history. From July 1739 to May 1740, he studied mining and mineralogy in Freiberg with mining councillor Johann Friedrich Henkel.
Oberbergmeister. Created the foundations of the water supply in and around Freiberg, which are still important today.
Ferrous metallurgist, 1904 to 1907 studied at the TH Braunschweig, TH Karlsruhe, Sorbonne Paris and TH Aachen; 1909 to 1919 steel research at Krupp Essen; 1925 to 1945 Professor of Ferrous Metallurgy at the Freiberg Mining Academy; 1949 to 1960 Director of the Hennigsdorf Iron Research Institute near Berlin; pioneering achievements in the development of stainless steels
Born on 19 June 1899 in Apolda, Meisser studied physics and geophysics at the University of Jena and then worked at the newly established main station for earthquake research in Jena. In 1940, he was appointed professor and director of the Institute for Applied Geophysics, the first in Germany, at the Freiberg Mining Academy. Professor Meisser founded the Institute and the Department of Applied Geophysics here, both for the first time in Germany. From 1945 to 1950, he worked as a specialist on behalf of the Soviet Military Administration (SMAD) and the Yugoslavian government. One of his most important tasks was to impart knowledge of applied geophysics to students of mining science. After the Second World War, he was initially a consultant for the exploration and development of non-ferrous deposits at the Ministry of Mining in Yugoslavia. In 1951, Prof Meisser resumed his work in Freiberg and was Rector of the Mining Academy from 1955 to 1957. With his characteristic energy and creative activity, he rebuilt the Institute of Applied Geophysics with state-of-the-art equipment for teaching, research and services until 1964. Meisser remained Director and Professor of Applied Geophysics at the Bergakademie until his death in 1966. The "" has existed since 1979. On the occasion of his 100th birthday, the Agricola Colloquium will be held in his honour on 18 June 1999 as part of the 50th Mining and Metallurgy Day of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
Professor at the Mining Academy from 1773-1839, developer of the scratch hardness scale
Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs was an important German mineralogist who is best known for developing the Mohs scale of hardness named after him. This scale, which describes the relative hardness of minerals based on their scratch resistance, is still one of the basic classification methods in mineralogy and geology today.
Ore deposit explorer; studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy from 1841-45; specialist for ore veins in the Ore Mountains, known as "Gangmüller"; 1871-77 administrator of the Rothschönberg gallery and head of dynamite blasting tests; 1876 Oberbergrat; from 1877 member of the State Geological Institute for the investigation of all Saxon ore deposits; explored ore deposits in almost all of Europe between Spain and the Urals; 1901 Geheimer Bergrat; 1907 first honorary doctorate from the Mining Academy.
Müller developed palaeontology into a renowned field of teaching and research at the TU Bergakademie.
Professor at the Bergakademie from 1826-1842, creator of the systematics of crystal forms and Naumann's crystal indices
Saxon chief mining administrator. Together with , founder of the Freiberg Mining Academy in 1765/66 and its first director. Son of the manor owner Bernhard Wilhelm von Oppel auf Krebs near Pirna and his wife Justine Christiane née von Heynitz. Educated according to his inclination for mining and metallurgy in the Ore Mountains. From 1743 assessor at the Freiberg Mining Office, from 1755 chief mining officer, from 1763 chief mining officer. In this role, he actively endeavoured to promote mining in the Ore Mountains after the Seven Years' War, particularly by co-founding the mining academy. The foundation of his private collection of minerals, books and mining models formed the basis of the mining academy's collections. The first lectures were held in his home. His children were the director of the Meissen porcelain manufactory, Carl Wilhelm von Oppel (1767-1833), and the statesman Julius Wilhelm von Oppel (1766-1832).
Mathematician; studied mathematics at universities in Leipzig and Munich; student of the famous mathematician Professor Felix Klein; private lecturer at the Polytechnic in Dresden; appointed full professor of higher mathematics and descriptive geometry at the Freiberg Mining Academy in 1892; 1911 inventor of a kinodiaphragmatic projection apparatus for visualising curves and surfaces in space; three-volume textbook on descriptive geometry in several editions; 1911 Privy Councilor of Mining; Rector of the Bergakademie several times between 1901 and 1924; was exceptionally popular with students; wrote a 14-page student poem of praise "Song of the Bergakademie" in 1921.
1817 Studied at the Mining Academy; 1842 to 1856 Professor of metallurgy and solder pipe tasting at the Mining Academy; 1848 Invention of Plattner extraction using chlorine gas to extract gold
Process engineer; studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy from 1920 to 1925; extensive industrial and research experience, particularly with Professor Rosin on coal dust problems; 1945 to 1948 assistant to Professor Kegel; 1949 to 1966 Professor of Heat Economy and Fuel Technology and Director of the Institute for Briquetting; 1951/52, together with Georg Bilkenroth, invention of high-temperature coke for brewing coal and trial operation in the Lauchhammer coking plant.
Ferdinand Reich was born in Bernburg on 19 February 1799. A student at the University of Leipzig in 1815, he attended the Mining Academy from 1816 to 1819. He worked for two years as a smelter's assistant in Halsbrücke, then studied in Göttingen and Paris before returning to Freiberg as an academy inspector in 1824. Reich was appointed Professor of Physics in 1827. Together with Theodor Hieronymus Richter, he discovered the element indium (1863) as part of spectral analyses of black Freiberg zinc blende. Other significant research achievements: Temperature measurements in Saxon mines, drop tests on the rotation of the earth in the Dreibrüderschacht near Freiberg, investigations of roasting gases and smelter smoke.
Born in Dresden on 21 November 1824, he studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy from 1843 to 1847 after completing his apprenticeship as a pharmacist. Student Richter became a member of the "Saxo Borussia" corps, which had been founded the previous year. In 1856, the former metallurgical chemist at the Freiberg smelting works took over the lectures and exercises in the "art of soldering tube tasting" for Professor Plattner, who was ill. In 1863, he was appointed professor for the art of soldering tube tasting and metallurgy. In the same year, together with the physicist Ferdinand Reich, he succeeded in discovering the element indium, whose name is derived from its indigo blue spectral colour, in an attempt to extract zinc from the black zinc blende lying in a stockpile. In 1873, Richter also took over the lectures on metallurgy and metallurgical assaying. He succeeded Director Professor Gustav Zeuner as Director of the Mining Academy from 1875 until his retirement in 1896. Richter died two years later in Freiberg and was buried in the Donat cemetery.
Humanist, physician, mathematician and well-known mining scientist; mayor of the city of Freiberg; author of the book "Eyn wohlgeordnet und nützlich büchlein, wie man bergwerk suchen und finden soll, Augsburg, 1505".
Statesman, chief mining captain and reformer of the mining and metallurgical industry in Electoral Saxony.
Machine builder; studied at the Mining Academy from 1826 to 1830; invented the sponge jug turbine in 1849; Saxon master craftsman in 1855; worked on the construction of the Rothschönberg gallery
Montane scientist; studied in Munich, Hanover and Berlin; worked at the Clausthal Mining Academy and the Wroclaw University of Technology; moved to Freiberg after 1945; Professor of Mining Science at the Freiberg Mining Academy until 1953.
Ore deposit scientist; 1859-64 studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy, pupil of Cotta; 1871 Professor of Mineralogy and Geology at the University of Córdoba in Argentina; 1874-95 Professor of Geology at the Freiberg Mining Academy; helped the thermal theory (filling by rising gases and vapours) achieve a breakthrough by comparing theories on the formation of ore veins; merit for the Bergakademie's global collection of ore deposits.
First student (scholarship holder) at the mining academy (1766-1767); master miner in Marienberg and mining captain in Zellerfeld (Harz); 1801-1819 chief mining captain in Freiberg
Geologist and mine surveyor; studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy from 1874 to 1878; Director of the Freiberg Mining School in 1887; Professor of Mining and Mineral Processing at the Mining Academy from 1891 to 1923; Rector of the Mining Academy from 1909 to 1911; promoter of mining history; editor of the German translation of Agricola's "De re metallica"; collection of mining history (Treptow Collection).
Son of the builder of the steam engine, James Watt senior. James Watt junior studied at the Bergakademie in 1787, presumably until 1789. Details are not known, but it is assumed that he attended lectures on mineralogy, geology and mining science by Werner, on chemistry and metallurgy by Chr. E. Gellert and on physics and mechanical engineering by J. F. Lempe in Freiberg. Watt junior remained in contact with Werner by letter for several years after his departure from Freiberg. Alongside A. v. Humboldt, L. v. Buch and J.F. Lempe, he was one of Werner's most famous students.
Machine scientist; from 1822 studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy, the University of Göttingen, the Vienna Polytechnic Institute and the University of Vienna; from 1836 professor of applied mathematics, mining engineering and the art of mine surveying; pioneering work in hydraulics; creator of the "new art of mine surveying" (with theodolite); co-founder of scientific mechanical engineering in Germany; author of important textbooks on engineering and machine mechanics and the art of mine surveying; first honorary member of the Association of German Engineers.
Professor at the Bergakademie from 1866 to 1900. Discoverer of argyrodite, author of methods of mineral determination
On 25 September 1749, Abraham Gottlob Werner was born near Bunzlau (now Bolesławiec, Poland). Werner was a student at the mining academy from 1769 to 1771. As a professor between 1775 and 1817, he was instrumental in establishing the high international reputation of the alma mater fribergensis. His lectures covered an exceptionally broad spectrum, from mineralogy and geology to mining science, rock science, petrification, geology, metallurgy, the history of mining in Electoral Saxony and the literary history of mineralogy. Werner is regarded as the founder of scientific mineralogy and geology. Many of his students achieved international fame. The first heyday of the Bergakademie is closely linked to Werner's name. Werner died in 1817 and a university building as well as a street and a square in the university town of Freiberg bear his name.
Chemist; studied at the Bergakademie from 1857-59; Professor of Chemistry at the Bergakademie from 1873 to 1902; expert in the field of gas analysis; book: "Anleitung zur chemischen Untersuchung der Industriegase"; work on preventing the danger of firedamp; 1886 discovery of the element germanium; 1875 invention of the contact process for the production of concentrated sulphuric acid and its industrial application in the Muldener Hütte (Muldenhütten) near Freiberg; 1886 discovery of the element germanium from the mineral argyrodite from the Himmelsfürst mine near Freiberg; 1896-99 Director of the Bergakademie; recipient of numerous honours, including an honorary doctorate from the TH Berlin.Among others, honorary doctorate from the TH Berlin, honorary member of the Association of German Chemists and honorary citizen of the city of Freiberg.
Thermodynamicist; 1848 to 1851 student at the Freiberg Mining Academy; pupil of Weisbach; 1855 to 1871 professor of technical mechanics and theoretical machine theory at the newly founded Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich, where he became director in 1865; 1871 successor to Professor Weisbach at the Freiberg Mining Academy; director and reformer of the Freiberg Mining Academy (1871-1875) and the Dresden Polytechnic (1873-1890); co-founder of technical thermodynamics and founder of the Dresden School of Thermodynamics.