Arnold Escher von der Linth (8 June 1807 inZürich – 12 July 1872) was aSwissgeologist, the son ofHans Conrad Escher von der Linth (1767–1823).
He made the first ascent of theLauteraarhorn on 8 August 1842 together withPierre Jean Édouard Desor and Christian Girard, and guides Melchior Bannholzer and Jakob Leuthold.[1]
He studied geology and other sciences inGeneva, where one of his teachers wasNicolas Theodore de Saussure, and inBerlin as a student ofLeopold von Buch andAlexander von Humboldt. In 1856 he became professor of geology at theÉcole Polytechnique inZürich and established the Geological Institute there.[2] His researches led him to be regarded as one of the founders of Swiss geology.[3]
WithBernhard Studer, he was the first to systematically explore the geology of theSwiss Alps and its neighboring regions (eastern Switzerland,Vorarlberg,Tyrol,Piedmont andLombardy).[2] Also with Studer, he produced a highly acclaimedgeological map of Switzerland (1853).[4]
In particular, his scientific liaison with the Scottish geologistRoderick Murchison (1792–1871) made him a contributor to the discovery of theSilurian system, and the first systematic description ofsedimentary rocks and theirindex fossils.[5]
He was the author ofGeologische Bemerkungen über das nordliche Vorarlberg und einige angrenzenden Gegenden (Geological observations on the northern Vorarlberg and some adjacent areas), published at Zürich in 1853.[3][4]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Escher von der Linth, Arnold".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 765.