Rock Fossils - As understood by Georgius Agricola
Public lecture on Wednesday, 15 March 2017, 6.30 pm at the TIETZ
On Wednesday, 15 March, 6.30 pm, a public lecture by Prof. Dr Dr Friedrich Naumann on the subject of "Rock Fossils - Understanding Georgius Agricola" will take place in the Museum of Natural History, in the TIETZ, 1st floor. Admission is free.
An event organised by the Friends of the Museum für Naturkunde e. V.
Georgius Agricola (1494-1555), a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Müntzer and Philipp Melanchthon, is undoubtedly one of those "giants of thought, passion and character, of versatility and erudition" who gave the Renaissance its typical character. The Saxon scholar and humanist was an outstanding personality whose preoccupation with the earth, its treasures and their utilisation was combined with educational aspirations and social commitment. He enjoyed an outstanding reputation as the founder of mineralogy and the mining sciences far beyond his home region.
His work as a teacher, doctor, mayor, court historiographer, statesman and naturalist is impressive. Born in Glauchau in 1494, he studied in Leipzig and worked as a teacher in Zwickau, before spending several years in Italy. As a doctor and pharmacist in the Bohemian town of St. Joachimsthal, he first came into contact with mining and metallurgy in his first work on mining, Bermannus. The highlight of his career was his work in Chemnitz, where he not only worked as a doctor and mayor, but also wrote his most important works. These include De natura fossilium libri X - the book on minerals, in which the term "fossil" is used for the first time. De re metallica libri XII, published after his death and translated into many languages around the world, is still regarded today as an unrivalled standard work in the field of mining and metallurgy.
Prof Dr Dr Friedrich Naumann has taught the history of science, technology and higher education at Chemnitz University of Technology since 1994. He is a member of the Historical Commission of the Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig. He is also actively involved in the board of the Agricola Research Centre Chemnitz.
For further information please contact:
City of Chemnitz, Kulturbetrieb
Natural History Museum
Dr Thorid Zierold
Tel: 0371 488-4552
Email: zierold(at)naturkunde-chemnitz.de