Franz Ritter von Hauer

Franz Ritter von Hauer, or Franz von Hauer (January 30, 1822 – March 20, 1899), was an Austrian geologist.

Hauer was born in Vienna, the son of Joseph von Hauer (1778-1863), who was equally distinguished as a high Austrian official and authority on finance and as a palaeontologist.

He was educated in Vienna, afterwards studied geology at the mining academy of Schemnitz (1839-1843), and for a time was engaged in official mining work in Styria. In 1846 he became assistant to Wilhelm von Haidinger at the mineralogical museum in Vienna; three years later he joined the imperial geological institute, and in 1866 he was appointed director. In 1886, he became superintendent of the Imperial Natural History Museum in Vienna.

Among his special geological works are those on the Cephalopoda of the Triassic and Jurassic formations of Alpine regions (1855-1856). His most important general work was that of the Geological Map of Austro-Hungary, in twelve sheets (1867-1871; 4th ed. 1884, including Bosnia and Montenegro). This map was accompanied by a series of explanatory pamphlets.

In 1882 he was awarded the Wollaston medal by the Geological Society of London. In 1892 von Hauer became a life-member of the upper house (Herrenhaus) of the Austrian parliament.

Regarding personal names: Ritter is a title, translated approximately as Sir (denoting a Knight), not a first or middle name. There is no equivalent female form.

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