Origins & Early Life

Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs ( MOHZ, German: [ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈmoːs]; 29 January 1773 – 29 September 1839) was a German chemist and mineralogist. He was the creator of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Mohs also introduced a classification of the crystal forms in crystal systems independently of Christian Samuel Weiss. Mohs was born on 29 January 1773, in Gernrode, in the Harz mountains, Anhalt-Bernburg (present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany).

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He showed an interest in science at an early age and received private education before entering the University of Halle. There, Mohs studied chemistry, mathematics and physics. In 1798, he joined the Mining Academy in Freiberg, Saxony, being a student of Abraham Gottlob Werner. After acquiring the job of a foreman at a mine in 1801, Mohs relocated in 1802 to Austria, where he was employed in trying to identify the minerals in a private collection of the banker J. F.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

van der Nüll. Mohs described this collection, and a catalogue was printed and published. In 1812 he relocated to Graz where he was employed by Archduke Johann in his newly established museum and academy of science, which was divided subsequently...

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