Johannes Walther was a German geologist who discovered important principles of stratigraphy, including Walther"s Law.
Education
Walther came from a religious home and studied botany, zoology, and philosophy at the University of Jena. In 1882 he successfully completed this course with a doctorate. Then he studied geology and palaeontology in Leipzig and later Munich.
Career
The following year he worked at the Stazione Zoologica in Naples as a lecturer, staying for two years. Among other things, he ran extensive sedimentological and biological studies. In 1885 he returned to Jena and habilitated there in 1886 with a thesis on crinoids.
After travelling, he was appointed as a professor at Jena in 1890.
Walther moved to the University of Halle in 1906, staying until 1929. Whilst there, he was in 1924 elected president of the prestigious German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, an office he held until 1931.
Membership
German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Academy of Sciences of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics.