1. Charles Wachsmuth was a German-American paleontologist and businessman.
16 Facts About Charles Wachsmuth
1. 2.
Charles Wachsmuth's father, Christian Wachsmuth, was a lawyer and member of the Frankfurt parliament who intended his son to follow him in the legal profession.
3.
However, ill health forced Charles Wachsmuth to leave school at age sixteen.
4.
Charles Wachsmuth's doctor recommended outdoor exercise and suggested fossil hunting as a pleasant and healthy pastime.
5.
Charles Wachsmuth soon found that the local limestone formations held an extensive array of the Paleozoic fossil animals known as crinoids.
6.
Charles Wachsmuth became an enthusiastic collector and student of crinoid fossils.
7.
Charles Wachsmuth's last stop was the British Museum in London where he was pleased to learn that the reputation of his collection in Burlington had preceded him.
8.
When Charles Wachsmuth returned to Burlington in 1866, he devoted all his energies to the continued collection and study of crinoid fossils.
9.
In Burlington, he soon made friends with Charles Wachsmuth and joined him in the collection and study of crinoids.
10.
In 1872, Springer moved his law practice to New Mexico but continued to collaborate with Charles Wachsmuth and returned to Burlington whenever possible.
11.
Charles Wachsmuth purchased the collection for $6,000 and hired Wachsmuth to take charge of the entire crinoid assemblage at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology.
12.
Charles Wachsmuth held this position until Agassiz's death in December, 1873.
13.
Charles Wachsmuth returned to Burlington the same year and set out to build another, even larger collection of fossils.
14.
Charles Wachsmuth built a special, fireproof museum behind his home to store the fossils.
15.
Charles Wachsmuth was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Geological Society of America, the Iowa Academy of Science, the Imperial Society of Natural Sciences of Moscow, and corresponding member of the Philadelphia Academy of Science.
16.
Charles Wachsmuth contributed to a variety of regional and national scientific journals, often with Springer as his coauthor.