Geographers Biobibliographical Studies Volume 5 9781474230766, 9781474230773

Table of contents :
Cover
Half-title
Title
Copyright
Contents
Introduction
List of Abbreviations
Lev Semenovich Berg 1876-1950
Lorin Blodget 1823-1901
Robert Capot-Rey 1897-1977
George Babcock Cressey 1896-1963
William Morris Davis 1850-1934
Johann Albert Fabricius 1668-1736
Johann Michael Franz 1700-1761
Henricus Glareanus 1488-1563
Andrei Alexandrovich Grigoryev 1883-1968
Arnold Henry Guyot 1807-1884
George Jobberns 1895-1974
Stanisław Lencewicz 1899-1944
Thomas Livingstone Mitchell 1792-1855
Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von Mueller 1825-1896
Hilda Ormsby 1877-1973
Carl Ritter 1779-1859
Percy Maude Roxby 1880-1947
Heinrich Schmitthenner 1887-1957
Johannes Stöffler 1452-1531
Pavle Vujević 1881-1966
Index

Citation preview

GEOGRAPHERS Biobibliographical Studies VOLUME 5

GEOGRAPHERS BIOBIBLIOGRAPHICAL STUDIES This volume forms part of the series Studies in the History of Geography planned by the Working Group on the History of Geographical Thought of the International Geographical Union and the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science. Chairman, Professor David Hooson, Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. Secretary, Professor T.W. Freeman, 1, Thurston Close, Abingdon, 0X14 5RD, England. Ordinary Members: Professor Vladimir Annenkov, Geographical Institute Academy of Sciences, Staromonetny per. 29, Moscow V-17, USSR; Professor Josef Babicz, Institut d'Histoire des Sciences et des Techniques, Polska Akademia Nauk, Nowy Swiat 72, Warsaw, Poland; Professor Manfred Büttner, 4630 Bochum, Kierfernweg 40, Federal Republic of Germany; Professor Geoffrey J. Martin, 82, Banks Road, Easton, Connecticut 06430, USA; Professor Philippe Pinchemel, Institut de Géographie, 191 rue St. Jacques, Paris 75005, France; Professor Keiichi Takeuchi, Faculty of Social Studies, Hitotsubashi University, Kunitachi, Tokyo, Japan. Honorary members: Mr. Gerald Crone, 34 Cleveland Road, Ealing, London W13, England; Professor Robert E. Dickinson* 636 Roller Coaster Road, Tucson, Arizona 85704, USA; Professor Richard Hartshorne, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA. * Professor Robert E. Dickinson died on 1 September 1981.

GEOGRAPHERS Biobibliographical Studies VOLUME 5 Edited by T. W. Freeman on behalf of the Working Group on the History of Geographical Thought of the International Geographical Union and the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science

Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc LON DON • OX F O R D • N E W YO R K • N E W D E L H I • SY DN EY

Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DP UK

1385 Broadway New York NY 10018 USA

www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in 1981 by Mansell Publishing Limited © International Geographical Union, 1981 T.W. Freeman has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Editor of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: ePDF: 978-1-4742-3077-3 ePub: 978-1-4742-3078-0  Geographers: biobibliographical studies. Vol. 5 1. Geographers – Biography - Periodicals 910’.92’2 G67 Series: Geographers: Biobibliographical Studies, volume 5

Contents Introduction

T. W. Freeman

List of Abbreviations Lev Semenovich Berg 1876-1950

E.M. Murzayev

1

Lorin Blodget 1823-1901

G.S. Dunbar

9

Robert Capot-Rey 1897-1977

Jean

George Babcock Cressey 1896-1963

Preston

William Morris Davis 1850-1934

Robert P. Beakinsale

Johann Albert Fabricius 1668-1736

Udo O.F.

Johann Michael Franz 1700-1761

Reinhard

Henricus Glareanus 1488-1563

Karl

Hoheisel

49

Andrei Alexandrovich Grigoryev 1883-1968

I.M.

Zabelin

55

Arnold Henry Guyot 1807-1884

Edith H.

George Jobberns 1895-1974

W.B.

Stanisjaw Lencewicz 1899-1944

Jerzy

Thomas Livingstone Mitchell 1792-1855

J.M.

Powell

83

Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von Mueller 1825-1896

J.M.

Powell

89

Hilda Ormsby 1877-1973

R.J.

Harrison

Carl Ritter 1779-1859

Max Linke

Percy Maude Roxby 1880-1947

T.W. Freeman

109

Heinrich Schmitthenner 1887-1957

Erhard

117

Johannes Stoffler 1452-1531

Karl

Pavle Vujevic 1881-1966

Dusan Dukid

Index

Bisson

13

E. James and Andrew D.

Krolzik J'dkel

and Richard J.

Chorley

21 27 35 41

Ferrell

Johnston

63 73

Kondracki

Church

Rosenkranz Hoheisel

Perejda

77

95 99

123 129 133

Introduction

Commissions of the International Geographical Union cannot exist for more than twelve years and therefore in 1980 the Commission on the History of Geographical Thought became a Working Group. It retains its aim of encouraging the publication of material on the history of geographical thought, whether by the Working Group itself or through the publication of societies and commercial firms. The welcome given to this annual journal has been gratifying, though consideration will also be given to other studies for possible publication by the Working Group. There has been a growing interest in bibliographical and biographical work and the original format of the papers in Geographers has proved to be effective. In this volume, however, the chronological tables have been replaced by a summary chronology of each geographer. Although the chronological tables were appreciated by many readers, they were expensive to print and in a number of cases repetitive of material already given in the text and the bibliography. Without them it is possible to publish more papers than in previous volumes. Regrettably, geographers (and others) have not provided suitable papers for much of the world, including especially Spain, Portugal and Italy in Europe, every country of South America and even, with single welcome exceptions, India and Japan. On the other hand it has been a pleasure to welcome papers from Australia and New Zealand, not only on famous figures such as Griffith Taylor and Charles Cotton but on some fascinating figures were were previously known, if at all, only by name. Not all the papers received

have been from professional geographers, for a number have come from historians, librarians and others. The Working Group maintains a happy and helpful relationship with the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science. Here then are twenty geographers, all individuals yet all influenced by the thought of their time, their appreciation of past time and their varied, if not always clearly perceptible, hopes for the future. In some lives there was an element of tragedy, notably in the death of Lencewicz in Warsaw in 1944 and in the disablement of Capot-Rey during the 1914-18 war though he triumphed over infirmity only to see his life work apparently ruined in North Africa during his last few years. Roxby, having survived both world wars, died before his work was completed through his insistence on going once more to China when there were signs of strain obvious to his friends though not apparently to medical advisers, Every life story appears to have its problem years but many of the geographers considered appear to have had fortunate lives marked by achievement. In this volume a first group consists of two Renaissance figures, Stoffler (1452-1531) and Glareanus (1488-1563), with two geographers whose work was done some two hundred years later, Fabricius (1668-1736) and Franz (1700-61). It is fortunate that these geographers should be studied by scholars well versed in philosophy and theology for their work in geography was part of their study of the Cosmos with a globe then only partially known. Stoffler was inspired by Ptolemy's geography, but

viii

Introduction

studied astronomy only to be seduced by the charms of astrology into the folly of predicting a universal deluge on March 25, 1524. Perhaps, having almost reached the age of seventy, he agreed with the psalmist that enough was enough. He had aspirations towards a regional geography, but little idea of any standard pattern. Glareanus was a more cautious character for though aware of the then current 'new geography' he remained generally faithful to Ptolemy. Fabricius, however, was adventurous in mind and saw in the exact observation of nature proof of a divine purpose: much concerned with water in the air and in the soil, he saw water's very artfully designed circulation as the means of supporting human life. His was a time of great possibilities, for men could re-route rivers, drain lakes, reclaim land from the sea, construct canals and build ports. Franz, though the 'father of applied geography' and an influence on Kant and Busching, was apparently given to a measure of self-advertisement resented by his contempories. Ritter (1779-1859) and Humboldt (1769-1859) have often been regarded as 'classical' figures, different but complementary, introducing a new period in geographical enquiry. Whether this is accepted or not, arguments on their respective merits are profitless, for the influence of both was profound. Ritter's aspiration for a descriptive analysis of the entire world was beyond achievement by one man in one lifetime but at least he showed, as others had done before him, the vast potential of geographical study. This was shown in the then new land of Australia by two settlers from Europe, Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792-1855) and Baron von Mueller (1825-96), two men whose marked ability was seasoned by an engaging dash of eccentricity. Guyot (1807-84) was pragmatic in outlook and strongly influenced by Ritter, some of whose ideas he imparted to audiences in America after his removal from a difficult political environment in Europe. Not convinced by Darwinism, he was concerned with with earth-man relations and, like Ritter, was an advocate of fieldwork, studying meteorology and glaciation in the Appalachians and even arranging for the collection of more climatic data. Some of this would have been useful to Lorin Blodget (18231901) who was regarded as the 'father of American climatology' although he was obliged to build his theories on a limited store of statistical observations, which indeed he was prepared to do. American geography was to receive its dynamic influence from William Morris Davis (1850-1934) , especially in geomorphology. Initially a climatologist, he became an international figure, making disciples in many countries through his attractive presentation of physical geography both for its own interest and as a basis for regional geography. In the 1950s, a century after he was born, there was denigration of his work but his influence on research and education has been profound.

Earth and man remained the concern of geographers though some were more attracted to physical geography than others. But none of the geographers studied in this volume had the temerity to ignore the physical environment as essential to an 'earth-man' study and even geomorphologists regarded their specialism as deriving some of its relevance from its contribution to regional geography. Nobody needed to fume over 'taking the "ge" out of geography'. And the scope of the subject was wide. Berg (1876-1950), a natural scientist in origin, progressed from zoology (especially ichthyology) to the distribution of sea and lake faunas, and in time to mountains (especially in central Asia) and the origin of loess, with climate and life. In general he was a biogeographer. Hilda Ormsby (1877-1973) was a regional geographer, belonging to a time when map interpretation was a favoured technique, as her book on France shows. P.M. Roxby (1880-1947) cared principally for regional geography on a broad historical and human basis, and acquired in his thirties a fascination for China that was to colour all his later life and work. Both these British geographers, differing greatly in their published work, were strongly influenced by Vidal de la Blache (1845-1918). Vujevic (1881-1966) was mainly a climatologist in Yugoslavia. A particular welcome is given to this study as too little is known internationally of Yugoslav geography and geographers, except for Cvijic. In Russia, Grigoryev (1883-1968) was primarily a systematic geographer, concerned with zonality (as was Berg) but eager to test the validity of theories by local fieldwork. He also made substantial contributions to the history of geomorphology. Lencewicz (1889-1944) was the founder of the Warsaw school of physical geography who, having worked in an Alpine area in his early research training, then found in his homeland a wide range of interest in physical, regional and human geography, and also in cartography. Schmitthenner (1887-1957) was a contemporary of Lencewicz at a time when geomorphology was a much favoured study. His political outlook was by no means unusual at his time. Jobberns (1895-1974) came late into university work at the age of forty-one and became the 'father of New Zealand geography' (are too many 'fathers' appearing?), through circumstances closely influenced by Davis and his distinguished disciple, D.W. Johnson (1878-1944). Jobberns cared very much - perhaps with prophetic insight - about the land use problems of New Zealand. He did much to make the later distinction of New Zealand geography possible. G.B.Cressey (1896-1963) apparently went to China by a chance as unexpected as that given to Roxby but it won his affection and his studies in time extended to the whole of Asia, the Soviet Union and to the world population problems. Finally, Robert Capot-Rey (1897-1977), having first studied eastern France and the Rhinelands, devoted his life to North African studies, especially to the Sahara, aridity and nomadism.

Virtually all the geographers of the past century presented in this volume are associated with one major division of the world, or even with one country, not necessarily their homeland, which through circumstances or inclination they were best able or most eager to observe. Yet the life of Ritter shows that much of a man's best writing may be on areas he has never seen. But for most of the geographers considered here, the concern was with the analysis of landscape in some way, with the hope - however misguided - that in regional geography some totality of vision and understanding might be achieved. In many countries articulate geographers were so few that individual influence was profound. But there were other and different voices than those of Cressey and Davis in America, of Berg and Grigoryev in Russia, of Ormsby and Roxby in Britain. These days the phrase 'geography is what geographers do' is denigrated, no doubt rightly, but study of this volume should reveal something of how twenty diverse characters reacted to the opportunities of their time.

T.W. Freeman Note: Intending authors are asked to write to Professor T.W. Freeman, 1, Thurston Close, Abingdon, 0X14 5RD, England, who will send information for authors of biobibliographical studies.

List of Abbreviations

Abbreviations have been adopted from British 4148: Part 2S 1975, Word-abbreviation list. Abh.

Standard

Bad. Landkd. Abhandlungen zur Badischen Landeskunde Acta Geogr. Acta Geographica Adv. Sci. Advancement of Science Allg. Dtsch. Biogr. Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie Am. Geogr. Soc. American Geographical Society Am. J. Sci. American Journal of Science Am. J. Sci. Arts American Journal of Science and Arts Am. Meteorol. J. American Meteorological Journal Ann. Am. Assoc. Polit. Soc. Sci. Annals of the American Association of Political and Social Science Ann. Assoc. Am. Geogr. Annals of the Association of American Geographers Ann. de I'Est Annales de l'Est Ann. Econ. Fr. Annales de l'Economie Francaise Ann. Geogr. Annales de Geographie Annu. Rep. Acclim. Soc. Vict. Annual Report of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria Annu. Rep. U.S. Geol. Soc. Annual Report, United States Geological Survey Assoc. Am. Geogr. Association of American Geographers Beitr. Oberrhein. Landkd. Beitrage zur Oberrheinischen Landeskunde Ber. Dtsch. Landkd. Berichte zur Deutschen Landeskunde

Ber.

Verh. Sachs. Akad. Wiss. Leipzig Berichte iiber die Verhandlungen der Sachsischen Akademie der Wissenschafter Leipzig Bol. Estud. Geogr. Univ. Natl. Cuyo Boletin de Estudios Geograficos del Universidad de Cuyo Bol. Geogr. Boletin Geografico Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. British Association for the Advancement of Science Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Bull. Assoc. Gtogr. Fr. Bulletin de 1'Association des Geographes Francais Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America Bull. Inst. Fouad I du desert Bulletin de l'Institut Fouad I du Desert Bull. Soc. Beige Stud. Expansion Bulletin de la Societe Beige d'etude et d'expansion Bull. Soc. G&ogr. Beograd Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie de Beograd Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afr. Nord Bulletin de la Societe d'Histoire Naturelle d'Afrique du Nord Bull. Soc. Neuchateloise Giogr, Bulletin de la Societe Neuchateloise de Geographie Bull. Soc. Neuchateloise Sci. Nat. Bulletin de la Societe Neuchateloise des Sciences Naturelles Bull. Soc. Sci. Skoplje Sect. Sci. Nat. Bulletin de la Societe Scientifique de Skoplje, Section des Sciences Naturelles Bull. Spec. Libr. Assoc. Geogr. Map Div. Bulletin of the Special Libraries Association, Geography and Map Division C. R. Congr, Int. Gfogr. Comptes Rendus, Congres Internationale de Geographie

List C. R. Inst. Giogr. Univ. Varsovie Compte Rendus, Institut de Geographie Universite de Varsovie C. R. Soc. Sci. (Lett.) Varsovie Comptes Rendus, Societe des Sciences (et des Lettres), Varsovie Can. Geogr. J. Canadian Geographical Journal China J. China Journal Diet* Am. Biogr. Dictionary of American Biography Die Naturwiss. Die Naturwissenschaften Dtsoh. Geogr. . . . Tag. Wiss. Abh. Deutsche Geographentag... Tagungsbericht und Wissenschaft Abhandlung Dtsch. Rev. Deutsche Revue Dusseldorfer Geogr. Vortr. Erdrterungen Dusseldorfer Geographische Vortrage und Erorterungen Eoon. Geogr. Economic Geography Edinburgh New Philos. J. Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal Erdkd. Erdkunde Frankfurter Geogr. H. Frankfurter Geographische Hefte Geogr. Abh. A. Penck Wien Geographischer Abhandlungen heurausgegeben von A. Penck in Wien Geogr. Anz. Geographischer Anzieger Geogr. Helv. Geographica Helvetica Geogr. J. Geographical Journal Geogr. Jahrb. Geographisches Jahrbuch Geogr. Mag. Geographical Magazine Geogr. Rev. Geographical Review Geogr. Teach. Geographical Teacher Geogr. Z. Geographische Zeitschrift Geol. Rdsch. Geologische Rundschau Geol. Soc. Am. Geological Society of America Geol. Soc. Am. (special Pap.) Geological Society of America (special Paper) IGU International Geographical Union Int. Geogr. Congr. International Geographical Congress Izv. Akad. Nauk. SSSR Ser. Geogr. Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR Seriya Geografica J. Am. Geogr. (Stat.) Soc. Journal of the American Geographical (and Statistical) Society J. Asian Stud. Journal of Asian Studies J. Bot. Journal of Botany J. Geogr. Journal of Geography J. Geol. Journal of Geology J. Geomorph. Journal of Geomorphology J. Proc. R. Soc. NSW Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales J. R. Aust. Hist. Soc. Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society J. Sci. Lab. Denison Univ. Journal of the Scientific Laboratories of Denison University Jahresber. Geogr. Gesell. von Bern Jahresbericht der Geographischen Gesellschaft von Bern Kol. Rdsch. Koloniale Rundschau Marburger Geogr. Schr. Marburger Geographische Schriften Mim. Inst. Rech. Sahariennes Memoires de 1'Institut de Recherches Sahariennes Milt. Geogr. Gesell. Wien Milteilungen der Geographischen Gesellschaft in Wien

Mitt.

of Abbreviations

xi

Ver. Geogr. Univ. Leipzig Mitteilungen des Vereins der Geographen an der Universitat Leipzig Mon. Weather Rev. Monthly Weather Review Munchner Geogr. H. Miinchner Geographische Hefte No Z0 Geogr, New Zealand Geographer N. Z. Geogr. Soc. New Zealand Geographical Society Natl. Acad. Sci. Biogr. Mem. National Academy of Sciences, Biographical Memoirs Natl. Geogr. Mag. National Geographic Neue Z. Syst. Theologie Religionsphilos. Neue Zeitschrift fur Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie Ohio J. Sci. Ohio Journal of Science Paideuma (Mitt, zur Kulturkunde) Paideuma (Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde) Petermanns Geogr. Mitt. Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci. Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Proc. Am. Philos. Soc. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Proc. Aust. N. Z. Assoc. Adv. Sci. Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. Proceedings of the Boston Society for Natural History Proc. Geol. Assoc. London Proceedings of the Geological Association of London Proc. Linn. Soc. NSW Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Proc. Pacific Sci. Congr. Proceedings of the Pacific Science Congress Proc. R.G.S. Australasia Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia Proc. Zool. Acclim. Soc. Vict. Proceedings of the Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria Prof. Geogr. Professional Geographer Przegl. Geogr. Przeglad Geograficzny Q. J. Geol. Soc. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society Rep. Australasian Assoc. Adv. Sci. Report of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science Rev. Afr. Revue Africane Rev. Econ. Fr. Revue d'Economie Francaise Rev. Gin. Sci. Revue Generale des Sciences Rev. Giogr. Hum. Ethnol. Revue de Geographie Humaine et Ethnologie Rev. Giogr. Phys. G§ol. Dyn. Revue de Geographie Physique et Geologie Dynamique Rev. Lorraine Anthropol. Revue Lorraine d'Anthropologic Rev. Miditerr. Revue de la Mediterranee Riv. Geogr. Ital. Rivista Geografica Italiana Sci. Mon. Scientific Monthly Scott. Geogr. Mag. Scottish Geographical Magazine

xii

List

Smithson.

of Inst.

Abbreviations Annu. Rep.

Annual Report

Soc. Giol. France Bull.

Smithsonian Institution Societe Geologique de

France, Bulletin

Spraw. Wydz. ...

Tow. Nauk Warsz.

Towarzystwa Nauk Warszawa

Tijdschr.

K. Ned. Aard. Genoot.

Sprawy Wydzial... Tijdschrift van het

Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardtijkskundig Genootschap Trans. N. Z. Inst. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute

Trans. Phil.

Inst.

Vict.

Transactions of the

Philosophical Institute of Victoria

Trans. Proc. R.G.S. Australasia

Transactions and

Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia

Trav. ...

Inst.

Giogr. Univ. Warsz.

Travaux...

Institut de Geographie de l'Universite de Warszawa

Trav. Inst.

Rech. Sahariennes

Travaux de 1'Institut

de Recherches Sahariennes

Trav. Soc. Sci.

Varsovie Sci.

Math. Nat.

Travaux de

la Societe des Sciences de Varsovie des Sciences Mathematiques et Naturelles

TUbinger Geogr. Stud. Studien

Tiibinger Geographische

Verh. Wiss. Abh. ... Dtsch. Geogr.

Verhandlungen und

Wissenschaftliche... des Deutschen Geographentages

Vict. Hist. J. Victoria Historical Journal Vict. Hist. Mag. Victoria Historical Magazine Voice Q. Voice Quarterly

Z. Allg. Erdkd. Zeitschrift fur Allgemeine Erdkunde Z. Geomorph. (N.F.) Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie (neue folge) Z0 Gesell. Erdkd. Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft fur Erdkunde Z0 Gletscherkunde Zeitschrift fur Gletscherkunde Zo Gyrrmas. Zeitschrift fiir Gymnasialwesen Z. Schulgeogr. Zeitschrift fiir Schulgeographie

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2 _ Lev Semenovich Berg and unforgettable land, Turkestan, which I regard as my second motherland. Sweet and pleasing to me is even the loess dust of Turkestan. (N.L. Kerzhenevsky, 'Discovery of Isfarynsky Glaciers and observations thereof by L.S. Berg', Problems of Geography3 24, Moscow, 1951, p 57). In 1904 Berg was invited to the Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg (now the Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R.), where he worked except for brief intervals for the rest of his life. From 1904 till 1917 he wrote a number of interesting works on geographical problems which always attracted him, related mainly to the drying of Asia's areas of inland drainage within the historical period, climatic changes on the globe during the last several thousand years and division of the Asiatic part of Russia into landscape and morphological regions. At that time also he wrote his well known work Forms of Russian Deserts (1911) and defined his concept of the subject matter and purpose of geography. In 1908 Berg published a large book entitled The Aral Sea: a Monograph of Physical Geography and submitted it for his Master's degree. To Berg's contemporaries the work was unique in its originality, its attention to every small detail and above all, in its treatment of the subject. A large water reservoir was shown in all its aspects as an integral part of a vast basin and an inseparable link within the landscape complex of a desert area. After his successful defence of his thesis the Council decided unanimously to award the degree of Doctor of Geography on March 4 1909. In the same year Berg went to the Causasus and the Armenian Upland where his attention was drawn to lake Sevan. In 1910 he sailed in the Sea of Barents, and from 1912 he participated in an expedition to the Chernigov province as geographer and geomorphologist. While working with this expedition and studying the surface deposits Berg turned his attention to the problem of the origin of loess. His interest in this problem can be traced from then on all through his subsequent works. Berg compared the loess of the Chernigov province with that of Turkestan and found both similarities and differences. Berg's prestige as a scientist grew rapidly. He received numerous invitations from universities in Russia offering him professorships in geography and zoology (ichthyology). The Academy of Sciences and the Geographical Society conferred various high scientific awards and prizes on him, including the highest distinction — the large gold (Konstantine) medal (in 1915). In the same period the Moscow Society of Naturalists elected him its honorary member. He was only thirtynine then and few scientists were honoured with such titles at such an early age. In 1916 Berg began his fruitful pedagogical career, lecturing first in the Petrograd University, then in the Geographical Institute. The institute merged into the Leningrad University in 1925 and became its geographical faculty. A large number of Soviet geographers regard themselves with pride as

Berg's disciples. With his lecturing and administrative work as Head of the department, Berg devoted much time to science. During this period he wrote several books which are now well known to specialists. Among them

were Bipolar Distribution

of Living

Organisms and the

Ice Age (1920) and Climate and Life (1922). In the same period Berg began to develop his theory of landforms. In 1922 he published his book Science, Contents,

Meaning and Classification,

in which he expounded his

concept of science as systematized knowledge, and in 1928 the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. elected him an Associate Member. Though getting on in years, Berg did not give up field research and travelling. In 1925 he once more visited the Aral Sea, studied the fishing problems there and carried out hydrological research. In 1926 he went to Korea and Japan as a member of the Academy's delegation. In 1928 and 1930 Berg went to lake IssykKul. It was during his work there that the bathymetric observations revealed the maximum depth of 702m, which immediately placed this mountain lake third in the U.S.S.R. next only to lake Baikal and the Caspian Sea. On December 7 1940, Berg was elected President of the U.S.S.R. Geographical Society. In 1945, when this Society celebrated its centenary, Berg published a book

One Hundred Years of the All-Union

Geographical

Society

in which he gave a brief survey of the history, structure and activities of the society, the oldest public scientific organization of the Soviet Union. At about the same time he published another book entitled Essays

on the History

of Russian Geographical

Discoveries

(1946). During his last years Berg was preparing the fourth edition of his fundamental work Freshwater

Fishes of USSR and Contiguous Countries

which was

issued in three volumes. During these years he also published several other geographical works, including

Essays on Physical

Geography (1944).

2. SCIENTIFIC IDEAS AND GEOGRAPHICAL THOUGHT Berg's scientific knowledge is diverse and many-sided. He was a real encyclopaedist. Besides geography and biology, the sphere of his scientific interest extended to paleontology, geology, ethnography, history and structure of science, terminology, toponomy, demography. But he was primarily a naturalist in the old sense of the word, i.e. a man familiar with nature in all its manifestations. Characteristic of his studies was an historical approach to analysis of facts, phenomena and laws. Historicism as a method of cognition of modern landforms, organic world and the universe as a whole can be easily traced in many of Berg's published works. Here consideration is given to Berg's contribution to natural sciences and, in particular, to the physical geography of the twentieth century. Berg regarded geomorphology as the most important of all geographical sciences. He devoted much attention to it in his course of lectures on landforms which formed the foundation of his book Geographical Zones of the Soviet Union (1931, 1947, 1952). Berg's classical works Forms of Russian Deserts (1911) and An essay

on the division

of Siberia

and Turkestan

into

landscape

Lev Semenovich Berg and morphological

regions

(1913) have been crucial in

the development of geomorphology of Russia and have initiated a typological approach to the classification of landforms and geomorphological regions of Russia's vast territories. Studying the problem of ancient glaciation and comparing various facts not only from the sphere of geology, but also from that of zoogeography, he came to the conclusion that the primary cause of the great glaciations was not orogenesis, but a global lowering of temperature resulting from cosmic factors, such as variation in the level of solar radiation and others. He added, however, that local mountain glaciation might well be a function of intensive orogenesis 'as, for instance, in the case of modern glaciers covering the highlands of the Alps, the Caucasus, the TianShan, the Himalayas, e t c ' (L.S. Berg, Selected Works, vol 2, Moscow, 1958, p 242). The split and so-called flotation of continents was another problem which attracted Berg's attention. He refused to accept Alfred Wegener's hypothesis and published an article 'About alleged divergence of continents' (1948) in which he traced the concept of divergence back to its age-old sources using facts from the history of science, and opposed the idea of horizontal landshifts on the basis of analysis of various geophysical, geological, biogeographical data and ocean bottom landforms. Berg was also interested in the processes underlying the build-up of sedimentary rocks. He attached great importance to the role of organogenous factors in the formation of the Ural bauxites and Krivoy Rog iron ores. In his opinion, the peculiarities of sedimentary rocks were determined by the nature of landscapes and certain geographical conditions prevailing during sedimentation. According to Berg, changes in the landscape were bound to lead to changes in the nature of sediments. Relationship between climate and life always attracted Berg's attention. This relationship is the essence of ecology, or even, as one may justly observe, ecology itself. It is not accidental, therefore, that one of Berg's largest and most interesting books was named Climate and Life (1922) . In this book he resolutely opposed the theory of land drying, particularly desert drying, as a global process. From the very beginning of his scientific career, Berg devoted much time to limnology. Mention has already been made of his studies of the lakes of West Siberia and Central Asia. He showed great interest in the history of formation of Lake Baikal and in the origin of its organic life. In 1934 Berg published his large work entitled

The Caspian Sea Level within

the Historic

Period.

Having studied an enormous number of sources, including cartographical ones, he discussed the variations in level of the Caspian Sea from ancient times to the twentieth century. This analysis enabled him to assert that during the last twenty centuries the water table of the Caspian Sea had not risen more than 4 metres above the 1925 level, which corresponded to the absolute height of 26.2 metres below the ocean

3

level. During the last 400 years the level of the Caspian Sea fell below the level of 26.0m four times. These fluctuations are connected with river drainage which depends on the climatic conditions, primarily on the amount of precipitation over the vast area of the watershed, 3.7 million square kilometres. Such comparatively small oscillations of sea level fluctuations testify to relative stability of climatic conditions within the historical period. Loess formation according to Berg is a paleographical problem, since in his opinion loess is a fossil soil, a relic. It was not formed in the recent epoch. Berg stressed the necessity to differentiate strictly between the method and time of the loess mother rock formation and the method and time of its transformation into loess itself which appears on different silt sediments rich in carbonates as a result of erosion and soil formation in dry climatic conditions. Why then do scientists maintain then that loess was formed in the glacial epoch? Berg, writing on soil theory answers this question as follows: Some mechanically homogeneous rocks tend to produce loess or loess-like deposits, such as, for instance, certain alluvial and fluvio-glacial sediments (including diluvial). This accounts for a not infrequent connection between loess and glacial areas .... The mother rocks of the European loess were deposited mainly in the glacial age when rivers carried great amount of turbid waters that flooded the present-day watersheds (interfluvial plateaus). Transformation of these rocks into loess took place in dry interglacial periods and in the dry post-glacial epoch. (Selected Works vol 3, 1960, p 570.) The history of science shows that living organisms cannot be studied outside their own environment. L.S. Berg put forward several biogeographical theories. One of them, based on the concept of bipolar distribution or organisms, dates back to the very beginning of the present century. As is well known, some marine organisms can be found within temperate latitudes of the northern and southern hemispheres, but they do not occur in tropical and equatorial latitudes. This inevitably suggests a question: why have such organisms become separated? In the opinion of scientists, the answer to this question is to be sought in the past. During the Pleistocene glaciation, when the climate of the planet was colder than in our age and when the sea waters were colder, such organisms could live in oceans over enormous areas. In the subsequent warmer period environmental conditions changed considerably in lower latitudes and cold-resistant fauna could survive only in temperate latitudes. The theory of bipolar distribution is a very good explanation of apparently puzzling biogeographical facts. Closely related to the bipolar theory is the doctrine of amphiboreal distribution of species on the Earth, according to which various species or genera survive in the West or East in temperate latitudes and do not occur in-between. As was discovered by Berg,

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