Alphonse Favre

Jean Alphonse Favre (1815 to 1890) was a Swiss geologist, born in Geneva, who died at Pregny. He was a pioneer of alpine geology and became director of the Swiss Geological Commission, which was charged with creating the geological map of Switzerland. He studied natural sciences at the Academy of Geneva from 1831 to 1837, then chemistry and mineralogy in Paris in 1839, and from 1844 to 1852 taught classes in geology and paleontology at the Academy of Geneva, where he was a professor for many years. He specialized in the geological research of Savoy and Mont Blanc, including studies of ancient glaciers in those regions, and his explanation of the geological structure showed that certain anomalous occurrences of fossils were due to recurring interfoldings of the strata and to complex overthrust faults. His publications include remarks on the anthracites of the Alps in 1841, geological considerations on Mount Saleve and the land around Geneva in 1843 and an essay on the geology of the mountains between the Jura chain and Lake Geneva in 1850. In 1888 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.