Arnold Escher von der Linth (1807–1872)
Born 1807 CE, died 1872 CE.
Arnold Escher von der Linth (8 June 1807 in Zürich – 12 July 1872) was a Swiss geologist, the son of Hans Conrad Escher von der Linth (1767–1823). Escher was the son of the state councilor Konrad who was director of the Linth prison and correctional facility. He was initially educated at home and then went to the Geneva Academy in 1825 where he attended lectures by de la Rive, de Candolle, Vaucher, and Nicolas Theodore de Saussure. After completing military service, his interest in geology made him enrol at the university of Berlin along with Johann Kaspar Bluntschli. Here he met and interacted with Leopold von Buch, Alexander von Humboldt and others. He travelled around Europe in 1829 and 1830. He travelled to the Italian alps with Karl Friedrich Vollrath Hoffmann, and this was followed by trips to Sicily and Vesuvius. He made the first ascent of the Lauteraarhorn on 8 August 1842 together with Pierre Jean Édouard Desor and Christian Girard, and guides Melchior Bannholzer and Jakob Leuthold. In 1833, following the establishment of the university in Zurich, where he became a private lecturer in 1834.
Text from the Wikipedia article Arnold_Escher_von_der_Linth, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.