The German naturalist Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817) wrote the first modern textbook of descriptive mineralogy and was the major proponent of the Neptunian theory of the earth.

Abraham Werner was born on Sept. 25, 1749, at Wehrau in Upper Lusatia (Prussian Silesia). His ancestors had been employed in the mining industry for several hundred years, and his father was the overseer of a foundry in Wehrau. When he was 10 years old, Werner went to school at Bunzlau, Silesia, but five years later he returned home to become his father's assistant. However, his interest in mineralogy became so strong that he abandoned this practical career and in 1769 entered the Mining Academy of Freiberg. After two years there he matriculated in 1771 at the University of Leipzig.

Investigations in Mineralogy

During his stay at Leipzig as a student, Werner became acutely aware of the unsatisfactory character of the numerous systems used at the...