Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege

Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege

Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege (10 November 1777, in Aue near Eschwege – 1 February 1855, in Wolfsanger near Kassel) was a German geologist and mining administrator.

He studied law and economics at the University of Göttingen, and from 1801 worked in the mining industry in Hesse. In 1803 he moved to Portugal, and served as director of an ironworks in Estremadura. In 1810 he was named by the Portuguese government to develop ironworks in Brazil, where during the ensuing years he established 28 ironworks, principally in the province of Minas Gerais. In 1817 he was appointed director-general of Brazilian gold mines. While performing geological investigations in Brazil, he also collected natural history specimens with naturalists Grigory Langsdorff and Georg Wilhelm Freyreiss. After his return to Europe in 1821, he published a number of writings on Brazil's natural resources.^[1][2]

Selected works

• Journal von Brasilien, oder Vermischte nachrichten aus Brasilien, auf wissenschaftlichen reisen gesammelt, 1818 – Journal of Brazil, or miscellaneous information on Brazil, gathered during scientific travels.
• Geognostische Gemälde von Brasilien und wahrscheinliches Muttergestein der Diamanten, 1822 – Geognostic portrayals of Brazil and the probable bedrock of diamonds.
• Beiträge zur gebirgskunde Brasiliens, 1832 – Contributions to the orography of Brazil.
• Pluto brasiliensis : eine reihe von abhandlungen über Brasiliens gold-, diamanten- und anderen mineralischen reichthum, 1833 – Pluto brasiliensis: a series of treatises on Brazil's gold, diamonds and other mineral riches.^[3]

References