STENO, THE FOUNDER OF GEOLOGY, IN THE WORLD OF COLLECTIONS AND MUSEUMS

This year we celebrate the 350th anniversary of the beginning of an extraordinary career. On November 27th 1656, Niels Stensen, also known as Nicolaus Stenonis or Steno, and often considered to be the founder of geology as a science, commenced his studies at the University of Copenhagen.

All through his scientific life Steno was fortunate to be able to name many famous scholars amongst his acquaintances, experts in e.g. chemistry, mathematics, pharmacy, medicine and biology. He was also supported financially by patrons with a keen interest in natural history. Many of these people were also associated with collections or museums of reputation. Some had inherited collections or museums e.g. Jan Swammerdam and Manfredo Settala, others had established these themselves e.g. Athanasius Kircher. Steno eventually became a collector and curator for the Grand Duke of Toscana.

This work is documented in a catalogue, "Indice di Cose Naturali", listing i.a. minerals and fossils in the Grand Dukes collection, some collected by Steno himself. Examples are hematite crystals from Elba, collected before "De Solido" reveals the principles of "Stenos Law" in 1669, and fossil fishes from the copper shale in Eisleben collected later. The importance of "Indice" is that the samples listed partly were collected as documentation for his own research and inspection of economically important geological localities. In posterity, the late Dr. Gustav Scherz was able to reconstruct Stenos travels using the information of these samples.

There is only scattered information on Stenos interest in and experience with collections or museums in his publications and letters. The aim of this presentation is to elucidate this relatively unknown aspect of his life from the very beginning of his career.