Otto Wilhelm Hermann Abich

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Otto Wilhelm Hermann Abich (11 December 1806 – 1 July 1886) was a German mineralogist and geologist who was among the first scientists to study the Caucasus. He is often called the Father of Caucasian Geology.

Born in Berlin, Abich initially studied law at Heidelberg but soon switched to the natural sciences at the University of Berlin. His teachers included Alexander von Humboldt, Christian Leopold von Buch and Carl Ritter; he also studied philosophy with Hegel and history with Ranke. He earned his doctorate in 1831 with a Latin thesis. His early research focused on spinels and other minerals. Following von Buch’s advice, he studied fumaroles and the geology around volcanic vents, traveling to Vesuvius, Etna, Stromboli and Lipari in 1833–34.

In 1842 he became professor of mineralogy at the Imperial University of Dorpat (now Tartu). He worked for the Russian Empire and became a member of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1853. Because he spent much time away from Dorpat, he was removed from the university and joined the Corps of Mining Engineers under M. S. Vorontsov.

Abich traveled widely to the Caucasus, Dagestan, Armenia and northern Persia. He lived for a time in Tiflis and studied the geology of the Armenian Highland (a term he helped popularize) and the Caucasus. In 1844–45 he climbed Mount Ararat several times and studied the geological events centered on Akori. He also discovered Miocene mammal fossils at Maragha.

Around age 50 he married Adelaide (Adele) Hess, daughter of chemist Hermann Hess. In 1877 he retired to Vienna, where he published two volumes detailing his Caucasus explorations. He received the Constantine Gold Medal from the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for this work; a third volume appeared posthumously, edited by Eduard Suess, with a biography.

Abich died in Vienna from appendicitis. Following his wishes, he was cremated and his ashes buried in his mother’s grave in Koblenz. The mineral Abichite was named after him. He published more than 190 papers, making him one of the era’s most prolific geologists.