Johann Gottlob Lehmann | |
|---|---|
 Lehmann in the age of 42 | |
| Born | 4 August 1719 (1719-08-04) |
| Died | 22 January 1767(1767-01-22) (aged 47) |
| Alma mater | University of Wittenberg |
| Known for | Stratigraphy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mineralogy |
Johann Gottlob Lehmann (4 August 1719 – 22 January 1767) was a Germanmineralogist andgeologist noted for his work and research contributions to thegeologic record leading to the development ofstratigraphy.
_2007-01-26.jpg)
Lehmann was born inLangenhennersdorf,Electorate of Saxony and attended theUniversity of Wittenberg, from which he received an M.D. in 1741, and then established a practice inDresden.[1]Living inSaxony, he developed an interest in the localmining industry, and published on the chemical composition of ore deposits. In 1750, theRoyal Prussian Academy of Sciences commissioned him to study mining practices throughoutPrussia.
In 1761, the RussianImperial Academy of Sciences invited him toSaint Petersburg, where he became professor of chemistry and director of the imperial museum there.[1] At theBeryozovskoye deposit in theUrals he discovered alead ore with a reddish-orange mineral (PbCrO4), which he named "Rotbleierz" (red lead ore); today in English its name iscrocoite.[2]
Lehmann,Georg Christian Füchsel, andGiovanni Arduino were founders of stratigraphy.
The chief merit of Lehmann is his accurate description of the stratified rocks (Flötzgebirge). He distinguished thirty successive bands of rock in the stratified system of Ilfeld and Mansfeld, and set forth the geological structure of that district in an accompanying series of diagrams and sections. Many of the terms in his description of the Thuringian deposits were adopted by him from the miners, and have been retained in geological literature; for example,Zechstein or mine-stone, corresponding to theMagnesian Limestone and shales or UpperDyassic group in England; androthes Todtliegendes (Rothliegende) or red underlayer, the unproductive basement beds below the ore-bearing, and the equivalent of the Lower Dyassic.[3]
Lehmann died in Saint Petersburg from injuries caused by the explosion of aretort filled witharsenic.
Attribution:
