Alphonse Favre

rdf:langString Alphonse Favre

rdf:langString Jean Alphonse Favre (31 March 1815 in Geneva – 11 July 1890 in Pregny) was a Swiss geologist. He was a pioneer of alpine geology and became director of the Swiss Geological Commission (Schweizerische Geologische Kommission), which was charged with creating the geological map of Switzerland. He studied natural sciences at the Academy of Geneva (1831–37), then chemistry and mineralogy in Paris (1839). From 1844 to 1852 he taught classes in geology and paleontology at the Academy of Geneva, where he was a professor for many years. In 1888, he was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society. He specialized in geological research of the Savoy and Mont Blanc, that included studies of ancient glaciers associated with those regions. His explanation of the geological structure showed that certain anomalous incidents of fossils were due to recurring interfoldings of the strata and to complex overthrust faults.