Cohen, Emil Wilhelm

views updated

COHEN, EMIL WILHELM

COHEN, EMIL WILHELM (1842–1905), Danish miner-alogist and geologist. Born in Aakjaer, Denmark, and a convert to Lutheranism, Cohen began his career as an assistant at the Heidelberg University and in 1878 was appointed professor of petrography at the University of Strasbourg. In 1885 he became professor of mineralogy at the University of Greifswald. In 1886 he explored the gold and diamond fields of the Transvaal, South Africa, and made several geographical explorations in various countries of South America. In the Franco-Prussian War he served as a noncombatant with the Germans, although he was a Danish subject. A nickel compound, Cohenite, is named for him. Among his works are Sammlung von Mikrophotographien (1881, 18993), on the microscopic structure and chemical composition of rocks and stones, and Meteoritenkunde (1894–1903), a study of the structure of meteorites.