Victor Moritz GoldschmidtBorn 27 Jan 1888; died 20 Mar 1947 at age 59. Swiss-Norwegian geochemist, mineralogist and petrologist who established a theoretical background for geochemistry (which in the previous century had been limited to the collection of data on the accessible earth's crust, waters and atmosphere.) Goldschmidt investigated the major and minor elements in minerals, and sought to explain their distribution as a result of cosmic origins. He invented crystal chemistry, whereby he attempted to complete a record of mineral crystal forms, and to link the variations of those forms to the physical and chemical conditions under which they were formed. In this pursuit, he both improved existing instruments and invented new ones. He is regarded as the founder of modern geochemistry.« |
