 albert heim (april 12, 1849 â august 31, 1937) was a swiss geologist, noted for his three-volume geologie der schweiz. born at zÃ¼rich, he was educated at zÃ¼rich and berlin universities. very early in life he became interested in the physical features of the alps, and at the age of sixteen he made a model of the tÃ¶di group. this came to the notice of arnold escher von der linth, to whom heim was indebted for much encouragement and geological instruction in the field. in 1873 he became professor of geology in the polytechnic school at zÃ¼rich, and in 1875 professor of geology in the university. in the same year he married marie heim-vÃ¶gtlin, switzerland's first woman physician. in 1882 he was appointed director of the geological survey of switzerland, and in 1884 the honorary degree of ph.d. was conferred upon him at berne. he is especially distinguished for his researches on the structure of the alps and for the light thereby thrown on the structure of mountain masses in general. he traced the plications from minor to major stages, and illustrated the remarkable foldings and overthrust faultings in numerous sections and with the aid of pictorial drawings. his initial misinterpretation of the glarus alps as resulting entirely from folding rather than from a major thrust fault, an error which he acknowledged in 1901, did not detract measurably from his considerable contributions. his work, mechanismus der gebirgsbildung (1878), is now regarded as a classic, and it served to inspire professor c lapworth in his brilliant researches on the scottish highlands (see geol. mag. 1883). heim also devoted considerable attention to the glacial phenomena of the alpine regions. the wollaston medal was awarded to him in 1
1849_births 1937_deaths Foreign_Members_of_the_Royal_Society Members_of_the_Royal_Swedish_Academy_of_Sciences Swiss_geologists Wollaston_Medal_winners