Adolph von Morlot

Adolph von Morlot (also: Charles Adolph de Morlot; see Note 1) (5 April 1820 – 10 February 1867) was a scientist who specialized in geology and later in archaeology. He was born in Naples, Italy and died in Bern, Switzerland (Note 2). Von Morlot is known for performing the first ever high-temperature synthesis of the mineral dolomite and known by archaeologists as one of the pioneers of underwater archaeology. He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1864. Von Morlot was born into a well-to-do family, living in Bern, Switzerland. In the 17th century his family had moved from the Lorraine (region) of France to Switzerland. Because Adolph's grandfather had not been able to afford to pay for the possible procurement of a good position for all of his three sons (the family fortune had been decimated as the result of the French Revolution), Adolph's father had to study medicine and had started working as a family doctor in Bern. His father's marriage to the wealthy English lady Constance Ingleby freed him from further financial troubles (Note 3). The marriage between Mark Theodore de (or: von) Morlot (Note 4) and Constance Ingleby was blessed with the births of Karl Adolph and of his sister Margaretha Elisabeth Adolfine. The education of Adolph von Morlot started out at a public school in Gottstatt, near Biel/Bienne, Switzerland; during 1835 and 1836 he visited the municipal "Realschule"of Bern, where he developed a definite liking for mathematics. Eighteen years old Adolph von Morlot entered the University of Bern; not only to pursue his interests in mathematics, but also to study geology (under professor Bernhard Studer) and to take part in geological excursions. However, he felt the need for a better education in especially mathematics and in the autumn of 1838 he went to the Collège Sainte Barbe in Paris, which held a reputation for teaching mathematics. In 1843 Von Morlot went to Freiberg, Germany to study ore mining.