242 FAMOUS GEOLOGISTS/Walther Suess E (1862) Der Boden der Stadt Wien nach seiner Bildungsweise, Beschaffenheit und seinen Beziehungen zum buă rgerlichen Leben: Eine geologische Studie Vienna: W Braumuă ller ă sterreichs Vienna: Suess E (1873) Die Erdbeben Nieder O K Gerold’s Sohn Suess E (1875) Die Entstehung der Alpen Vienna: W Braumuă ller Suess E (1885 1909) Das Antlitz der Erde (three volumes; vol in two parts) Prague and Leipzig: F Tempsky and G Freytag Suess E (1897 1918) La Face de la Terre (three volumes; vol in four parts) (Traduit et annote´ sous la direction de E de Margerie Avec une pre´ face par M Bertrand) Paris: Librairie Armand Colin Suess E (1904 1924) The Face of the Earth (five volumes) (Translated by HBC Sollas, under the direction of WJ Sollas.) Oxford: Clarendon Press Suess E (1916) Erinnerungen Leipzig: S Hirzel Tollmann A (1981/1982) Die Bedeutung von Eduard Suess ă sterreichischen fuă r die Deckenlehre Mitteilungen der O Geologischen Gesellschaft, (special volume to mark the 150th anniversary of E Suess’ birth) 74/75: 27 40 Wegmann E (1976) Eduard Suess In: Gillispie CC (ed.) Dictionary of Scientific Biography 13, pp 143 149 New York: Charles Scribner Walther I Seibold, University Library, Freiburg, Germany ß 2005, Elsevier Ltd All Rights Reserved Career Johannes Walther (Figure 1) was one of the early pioneers in sedimentology, introducing a modern approach that combined both lithological and biological aspects Walther was born on 20 July 1860, the son of a vicar in Neustadt/Orla in the German province of Thuringia In his boyhood he was handicapped by a nervous disease (probably caused by a serious fall) that prevented his regular attendance at school and as a result he did not receive a leaving certificate But his intelligence and enthusiasm for science were so evident that he obtained special permission to study at the University of Jena and his health was restored during his period as a student Walther was awarded his PhD in zoology in 1882, following which he went to Leipzig and Munich to study geology and palaeontology more intensively At the same time, he started his first investigations of the sea floor in the Bay of Naples, where Anton Dohrn’s marine biology station was based In 1886, Walther became a lecturer in Jena; in the following years he undertook extended geological expeditions abroad During his time as lecturer Walther was almost without income, for his position had no salary, apart from the small lecture fees He therefore had to make a living by writing (e.g., newspaper articles) and giving public lectures However, in 1894 he was appointed associate professor (Haeckel Professor) at Jena, a post endowed by a wealthy Swiss admirer of Walther’s teacher, the famous zoologist Ernst Haeckel In 1899, Walther married Janna Hentschel They had two children, a son and a daughter From 1906 until his retirement, he was Director of the Geological Institute of Halle University His work comprised more than 120 publications, including a dozen books, most of which appeared in several editions Walther received honorary degrees from Perth and Melbourne (the latter weeks after the outbreak of World War I!) In 1928, he was Visiting Professor at John Hopkins University, Baltimore From 1924 to 1931, he served as President of the German Academy of Scientists, Leopoldina, in Halle He died at Hofgastein, Austria, on May 1937 Figure Johannes Walther