- Angelo Heilprin
Angelo Heilprin (
March 31 ,1853 , atSátoralja-Ujhely ,Hungary – 1907) was an American naturalist,geologist , and traveler; son ofMichael Heilprin , a scholar of Polish origin.He was taken by his father to the
United States in 1856. Some years later he returned to Europe, where he was educated. From 1876 to 1878 he continued his studies at theRoyal School of Mines, London ; at theImperial Geological Institution of Vienna , and atFlorence andGeneva , subsequently returning to the U.S. He was professor ofinvertebrate paleontology and ofgeology at theAcademy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia (1880-1900);curator in charge of the museum of that institution (1883-1892); professor of geology at theWagner Free Institute of Science inPhiladelphia (1885-1890); and was the first president of theGeographical Society of Philadelphia , serving for seven years.Heilprin also demonstrated his ability as an artist, and in 1880 exhibited "Autumn's First Whisper" at the
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts , and "Forest Exiles" at theBoston Museum of Fine Arts in 1883.In 1886 Heilprin went to
Florida for the purpose of investigating the geological structure of the peninsula; in 1888, toBermuda for a similar purpose. Two years later he set out on a scientific expedition toMexico , and in pursuit of his investigations he ascendedIztaccihuatl ,Orizaba , andPopocatepetl , and ascertained their altitudes bybarometric measurements. While on this journey he explored the central plateau, and on his return contributed valuable additions to the geological knowledge of that region. In 1892 Heilprin led thePeary Relief Expedition toGreenland . After the eruption ofMount Pelée , by which the city ofSaint-Pierre, Martinique , was entirely destroyed (May 8 ,1902 ), Heilprin visited the island, and climbed to the crater of Mount Pelé while the volcano was in action; he revisited it in 1903.The following are his chief publications:
* "Contributions to the Tertiary Geology and Palæontology of the United States" (1884)
* "Town Geology, the Lesson of the Philadelphia Rocks" (1885)
* "The Geographical and Geological Distribution of Animals" (1887)
* "The Geological Evidences of Evolution" (1888)
* "The Bermuda Islands" (1889)
* "Principles of Geology" (1890)
* "The Arctic Problem and Narrative of the Peary Relief Expedition" (1893)
* "The Earth and Its Story" (1896)
* "Alaska and the Klondike" (1899)
* "Mount Pelée and the Tragedy of Martinique" (1903)
* "The Tower of Pelée" (1905) He edited, along with his brotherLouis Heilprin , "Lippincott's New Gazetteer" (1905).He is commemorated in the name of the
Heilprin's Jay "Cyanocorax heilprini".Bibliography
* Appleton's Encyc. of American Biog.;
* Who's Who in America;
* International EncyclopediaReferences
*JewishEncyclopedia
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