Émile Argand

Émile Argand (6 January 1879 – 14 September 1940) was a Swiss geologist.

He was born in Eaux-Vives near Geneva. He attended vocational school in Geneva then worked as a draftsman. He studied anatomy in Paris, but gave up medicine to pursue his interest in geology.

He was an early proponent of Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift, viewing plate tectonics and continental collisions as the best explanation for the formation of the Alps. He is also noted for his application of the theory of tectonics to the continent of Asia.

He founded the Geological Institute of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Awards and honors

• 1913 Spendiarov Prize
• 1926 Marcel Benoist Prize
• A region of wrinkle ridges on the Moon was named Dorsa Argand after him.
• There is a road named "Rue Emile-Argand" at the University of Neuchâtel.
• Argandite, a mineral.

Bibliography

• Argand, E. (1924), "La Tectonique de l'Asie", Extrait du Compte-rendu du XIIIe Congrès géologique international 1922 (Liège), 1(5), pp. 171-372.
• Argand, E. (1916), "Sur l'arc des Alps Occidentales", Eclogae geologicae Helveticae (Lausanne), 14, pp. 145–192.
• Argand, E. (1911), "Les nappes de recouvrement des Alpes Pennines et leur prolongement structuraux", Mat. carte géol. Suisse, N.S., XXXI livr.
• Emile Argand (1909), L'exploration géologique des Alpes pennines centrales, Lausanne: Imprimeries Réunies, OCLC 493327130, OL 25208924M

References

• Flügel, Helmut W. (December 1980). "Wegener-Ampferer-Schwinner: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Geologie in Österreich" [Wegener-Ampferer-Schwinner: A Contribution to the History of the Geology in Austria] (PDF). Mitt. österr. Geol. Ges. (in German). 73.
• Wegener, Alfred (1929). Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane (in German) (4 ed.). Braunschweig: Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Akt. Ges. ISBN 3-443-01056-3.
• Wegmann, C.E. (1970). "Argand, Émile". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 235–237. ISBN 0-684-10114-9.
• "Historical Geology". Geopark Sardona.

External links

• Historical perspective on the Alps, including illustrations by Argand.
• Necrology (in French), in: Verhandlungen der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 120 (1940), 379-403.