Pierre Jean Édouard Desor

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Pierre Jean Édouard Desor (1811 – 1882), Swiss geologist, was born at Friedrichsdorf, near Frankfurt, on 13 February 1811. He associated in his early years with Louis Agassiz, studying palaeontology and glacial phenomena, and together with James David Forbes ascended the Jungfrau in 1841. He was in a guided party on the first ascent of the Lauteraarhorn on 8 August 1842.

Desor afterwards became professor of geology at the academy of Neuchâtel, continued his studies on the structure of glaciers, but gave special attention to the study of Jurassic Echinoderms. He also investigated the old lake-habitations of Switzerland, and made important observations on the physical features of the Sahara. Having inherited considerable property he retired to Combe Varin in Val-de-Travers. He died in Nice on 23 February 1882. His chief publications were: Synopsis des Echinides fossiles (1858), Aus Sahara (1865), Der Gebirgsbau der Alpen (1865), Die Pfahlbauten des Neuenburger Sees (1866), Echinologie Helvetique (2 vols., 1868-1873, with P. de Loriol).

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• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.