Ernst Reinhold von Hofmann

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Ernst Reinhold von Hofmann
Hofmann in the 1860s
Born(1801-01-08)8 January 1801
Paistu Parish, Russian Empire (present-day Estonia)
Died23 May 1871(1871-05-23) (aged 70)
Dorpat, Russian Empire (present-day Estonia)
NationalityRussian
Other namesErnst Karlovich Hofmann
Alma materDorpat University
Scientific career
FieldsMineralogy, geology
InstitutionsSaint Petersburg State University
University of Kyiv
Academic advisorsMoritz von Engelhardt
Signature

Ernst Reinhold von Hofmann (Russian: Эрнст Ка́рлович Го́фман, tr. Ernst Karlovich Hofmann, 8 January 1801 – 23 May 1871) was a Russian geologist, geographer, explorer, and lecturer. He was a geologist who accompanied Otto von Kotzebue and his crew during his travels around the world from 1823 to 1826.[1] After that, he made several travels to regions such as the Urals and Continental Europe and made note of orography and general geography. He was also a professor at Saint Petersburg State University and an associate professor at the University of Kyiv.

Early life and education

Hofmann was born on 8 January 1801 in

Dorpat (now called Tartu) and attended a city gymnasium for primary school. He started studying medicine at the Dorpat University in 1819, but became fascinated with Moritz von Engelhardt's teaching and became a student of geology and mineralogy.[3]

Early travels and studies

Map of the journey Hofmann travelled with Otto von Kotzebue and other scientific figures

From 1823 to 1826, Hofmann circumnavigated the world with Otto von Kotzebue and other young students, including

Ralik chain, which was regarded by explorers as relatively mysterious. The group were also the first Westerners to observe the Eschscholtz Atoll on 9 October. The group stopped in Guam for three days, starting in 19 October. The group arrived in Manila on 8 November and stayed so the ship could be repaired. The group left the Philippines on 10 January 1826. They passed the Sunda Strait on 25 January and ventured through the Indian Ocean, rounding the Cape of Good Hope on 16 March and arriving at Saint Helena eleven days later. They entered Portsmouth on 3 June and reached Kronstadt on 10 July.[4] He was awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir in 1929 for his participation in the circumnavigation.[6] Hofmann later recorded his geological findings in his article, "Geognostische Beobachtungen auf einer Reise um die Welt in den Jahren 1823-26" (English: Geognostic observations on a trip around the world in the years 1823-26).[3]

With Gregor von Helmersen, Hofmann travelled to the Southern Ural region in 1828, by request of Georg Ludwig Cancrin, the Minister of Finance.[3] While there, the pair became the first to create an orographic map of the region.[7] In 1831, they published "Geognostische Untersuchung der Süd-Uralgebirges" (English: Geognostic study of the southern Ural Mountains) in Berlin.[3] While in Europe with Helmersen, Hofmann travelled to Saxony, Bohemia, the Harz, Austria, Northern Italy, Switzerland, and the Rhineland and met such figures as Gustav Rose and Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.[2]

Later career and professorship

Having returned from Berlin, Hofmann became a lecturer of geology and mineralogy at his

Eastern Siberia and researched the gold-bearing placer deposits and collected information on its geology, vegetation, fauna, and ethnography.[7] He wrote a work on his findings in 1847.[8] In 1844, he conducted research around the Kemijoki.[3] In 1845, he became a professor at Saint Petersburg State University, a position he held until 1863.[6]

The latter part of his career was spent mainly researching the Ural region. In 1847, he led a

Middle Urals every summer. He created maps and recorded geological details of different areas in the region, for example, in 1857, during an expedition, he surveyed Mountain Kachkanar.[10] He also wrote many works about his findings in the resulting years.[3] In 1861, he became the director of the Imperial Mineralogical Society and served the position until 1865. In 1869, he became lieutenant general of the Corps of Mining Engineers.[7]

He died on 23 May 1871, at the age of 70.[11] Hofmann Island is claimed to be named after him.[7]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ernst Reinhold Hofmann.
  1. Andreas W. Daum
    : German Naturalists in the Pacific around 1800: Entanglement, Autonomy, and a Transnational Culture of Expertise. In: Explorations and Entanglements: Germans in Pacific Worlds from the Early Modern Period to World War I, ed. Hartmut Berghoff et al. New York, Berghahn Books, 2019, 70‒102, here pp. 86‒87, 93, 95.
  2. ^ a b c "Hofmann, Ernst". Deutsche Biographie (in German). Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Гофман, Эрнест Карлович". Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  4. ^ a b Kaputsin, I.V. "Новое путешествие вокруг света в 1823 - 1826 гг" (in Russian). Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  5. ^ "190 лет первовосхождению на Авачинский вулкан". Volcanoes of Kamchatka (in Russian). Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Гофман Эрнст Карлович". Saint Petersburg State University (in Russian). Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d "ГОФМАН ЭРНСТ КАРЛОВИЧ. НАСЛЕДИЕ КАРТОГРАФОВ УРАЛА". Russian Geographical Society (in Russian). Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. ^ "ГОФМАН, ЭРНЕСТ КАРЛОВИЧ (ERNST REINHOLD HOFMANN, 1801 -1871)". Shartash Megaliths (in Russian). Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  9. ^ "CONSTANTINE MEDAL OF THE IRGS". Russian Geographical Society. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  10. ISBN 5-93472-019-8. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2021-10-20.
  11. ^ Helmersen, Gregor von (1874). Ernst Hofmann : Nekrolog. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
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