thumb|Coat of arms of the [[Uradel Keyserlingk family in the '.]]

thumb|Coat of arms of the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian counts of the Keyserlingk family, in the Baltic coat of arms book by Carl Arvid von Klingspor in 1882]]

Alexander Friedrich Michael Lebrecht Nikolaus Arthur Graf von Keyserling (15 August 1815 – 8 May 1891) was a Baltic German geologist and paleontologist from the Keyserlingk family of Baltic German nobility.

Career

Alexander von Keyserling was born on at the Kabillen Manor, , Courland Governorate (in present-day Kabile, Kuldīga Municipality, Latvia), then part of the Russian Empire. His father was Count Heinrich Diedrich Wilhelm von Keyserling, 3rd Count of Rautenburg, was a spokesman, and in Courland, his mother was Baroness Anna Amalie Benigna . His family was of Westphalian origin and was originated in Herford, they were considered part of the Uradel, or old nobility. The first ever mentioned member was Albert Keserlink (1443-1467 or 1468), the mayor of Herford. Alexander belonged to the House of Rautenburg-Telsen-Paddern, which was a subdivided branch of the Prussian comital branch. The branch's founder Dietrich II von Keyserling, Herr auf und , was elevated to count in 1786. Dietrich's father Heinrich Christian also inherited the title of Count of Rautenburg, although Alexander didn't inherit the title since he was the 10th child in the family, his elder brother Otto Ulrich Johann inherited the title.

Alexander studied at the Humboldt University of Berlin, here he met with future German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and John Lothrop Motley, with whom he became lifelong friends.

Alexander is considered to be one of the founders of Russian geology. He made many expeditions on behalf of Nicholas I of Russia in Estonia, northern Russia, and the Urals (1839-1846). In the third edition of On the Origin of Species published in 1861, Charles Darwin added a Historical Sketch that acknowledged the ideas of Keyserling.

Darwin sent a copy of his book to Keyserling who was skeptical about the role of natural selection in evolution.

See also

  • List of Baltic German scientists

Notes

References

Sources

  • (de)