Henry Küss
| Henry Küss | |
|---|---|
Henry Küss at the École des Mines de Paris c. 1875
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| Born |
19 June 1852 Cernay, Haut-Rhin, France |
| Died | 22 November 1914 (aged 62) Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Mining engineer |
Henry Küss (or Henri Küss, 19 June 1852 – 22 November 1914) was a French mining engineer. After brilliant studies at the École Polytechnique and École des Mines he was placed in charge of the mineralogical sub-district around Grenoble. While holding this position, he made overseas trips to Uruguay, Mozambique, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Spain, Tunisia and Australia (twice) to assess the potential of mining concessions, earning a high reputation among financiers. He was appointed an inspector-general of mines, and made important contributions to mining education and mine safety and hygiene regulations.
Henry Küss was born in Cernay, Haut-Rhin, on 19 June 1852. He came from an old Alsace family. His father was Jean-Frédéric Küss (1805–62), a pastor, and his grandfather was Georges Charles Küss, an inspector of records at Colmar and Wissembourg. An uncle and a cousin belonged to the Corps des ponts et chaussées, and another cousin became mayor of Strasbourg. His father had three sons by his first marriage, and ten children by his second marriage, to Louise Amélie Küss (his mother had the same maiden name). Henri was the oldest boy of the second marriage.
When his father died his mother moved with her six living children to Strasbourg, where Henry was admitted to the Lycée de Strasbourg. He was preparing for admission to the École Polytechnique when the Franco-Prussian War broke out on 15 July 1870, preventing all movement. After the war he went to Paris in March 1871 and studied briefly at the Collège Sainte-Barbe before being admitted to the École Polytechnique in the promotion of 1871. After graduating, in 1873 he entered the École des Mines de Paris. As part of his studies, he travelled in the summers of 1874–76 through the coalfields of northern France, Belgium, the Ruhr and Saxony, then the metallic regions of Germany and Austria, and finally the mines of Spain, the lead and zinc mines of Algeria, and the iron mines of the Société Mokta El Hadid. In 1877 Küss graduated with brilliant results. He became a member of the Corps des mines. His memoir on the mercury mines and factories of Almadén in Spain was published in 1878.
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