Johann von Charpentier

views updated

Johann von Charpentier

1786-1855

German-Swiss geologist who first worked out the details of a European ice age. The ice age, earlier proposed by Swiss geologist Ignatz Venetez (1788-1859), was not accepted until Charpentier convincingly described the details to Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), who went on to bring the idea to popular and scientific acceptance.

About this article

Johann von Charpentier

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article