Eduard Suess

Eduard Suess
Eduard Suess, 1869
Born(1831-08-20)20 August 1831
London, England
Died26 April 1914(1914-04-26) (aged 82)
Vienna, Austria
Resting placeMarz, Austria-Hungary
47°43′6.991″N 16°24′57.932″E / 47.71860861°N 16.41609222°E / 47.71860861; 16.41609222
Alma materUniversity of Vienna
Known forBiosphere, Gondwana, Tethys Ocean, Das Antlitz der Erde, eustatic theory, sima, sial
SpouseHermine née Strauss
Children5 sons, 1 daughter
AwardsHayden Memorial Geological Award (1892)
Wollaston Medal (1896)
Copley Medal (1903)
Scientific career
FieldsPalaeogeography, tectonics
Doctoral studentsMelchior Neumayr
Johann August Georg Edmund Mojsisovics von Mojsvar
Fuchs
Wilhelm Heinrich Waagen
Albrecht Penck

Eduard Suess (Austrian German: [ˈeːdu.ard ˈsyːs]; 20 August 1831 – 26 April 1914) was an Austrian geologist and a specialist on the geography of the Alps. He is responsible for hypothesising two major former geographical features, the supercontinent Gondwana (proposed in 1861) and the Tethys Ocean. He also introduced the concepts of eustasy. As a professor of geology at the University of Vienna, he was a founding figure in geology in Austria, influencing numerous geologists across Europe. He was considered the "dean of geology" at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was also an Austrian parliament representative for the liberal party.