1494-1555

German Mineralogist, Metallurgist and Physician

Georgius Agricola is often referred to as the father of mineralogy. His series of treatises on the principles of geology and mineralogy were instrumental during the formative period in the development of these fields. As influential as these works were, he is best remembered for his magisterial De re metallica, which faithfully recorded sixteenth-century mining practices.

Agricola, whose real name was Georg Bauer, was born on March 24, 1494, in Glauchau, Saxony. After attending various schools in Glauchau, Zwickau, and Magdeburg, he matriculated at the University of Leipzig in 1514 and received his B.A. the next year. He remained at the university as a lecturer in elementary Greek until 1517, when he accepted a position at the Municipal School in Zwickau. He became rector extraordinarius in 1519 but eventually returned to Leipzig, where he studied medicine under Heinrich Stromer von Auerbach. He continued these...