Friedrich Albert Fallou

Friedrich Albert Fallou (1794–1877) was the German founder of modern soil science.[1] While working as a lawyer and tax assessor,[2][3] Fallou established himself as an independent scientist, a recognized authority[4] in the natural history of farm and forest soil. In 1862 he advanced the idea that soil was separate in nature from geology. Intent on establishing the study of soils as an independent science,[5] Fallou introduced the term pedology (German: pedologie).[6]

Friedrich Albert Fallou
BornNovember 11, 1794
Zörbig, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
DiedSeptember 6, 1877 (aged 82)
der Diedenmühle near Waldheim, Saxony, Germany
Alma materUniversity of Leipzig
OccupationLawyer
Geologist
Known forFounder of Pedology

Life

Friedrich Albert Fallou came from an aristocratic French Huguenot family. He was the son of a judicial bailiff, and spent his childhood in Rochlitz and Grimma, where he was a student at the Gymnasium St. Augustine. He never married. From 1814 to 1817 Fallou studied jurisprudence at the University of Leipzig. From 1818 to 1824 he worked as a lawyer in Colditz. In 1825 he was appointed town clerk of Waldheim and worked as administrative officer at the City Court, and as a land value tax assessor. His love of nature turned his attention to soils, which he studied as an independent scholar.[3][7][8][9] He also wrote geographic descriptions of Saxon regions and towns, which he published in the journal "Saxonia" under the pseudonym "Baldwin from Eichberg". In 1833 he resigned as city clerk and again ran a practice as a lawyer and land evaluator, this time until 1850. After that, Fallou devoted himself almost exclusively to geological, mineralogical and pedological studies. In 1856 he moved to the Diedenmühle near Waldheim in Saxony, living here as an independent scientist until his death.[7][8][10]

Profession

Working in soil evaluation for most of his professional life, Fallou was unhappy with the declining soil quality in his region. He developed a passionate interest in soil.[11] Fallou conducted independent geological, petrographic and mineralogical studies in the 1830s. He had a particular interest in the granulite geology near Prachatice on the eastern edge of the Bohemian Forest. In the years after 1840 he devoted his time to the origin of agricultural and forest soils. His first major publication was a description of the rock formations of Muldengaues and their influence on vegetation. This was published in 1845 and received an award from the Princely Jablonowski'schen Society in Leipzig.[12][13]

In 1853 he published his book "The arable lands of the Kingdom of Saxony", along with a second edition in 1855. Through numerous study trips in Saxony and neighboring countries, Fallou recognized the need to make soil science knowledge applicable to agriculture and forestry use.[7][12]

In his two books "First Principles of Soil Science" (1857, 2nd ed. 1865) and "Pedology or General and Special Soil Science" (1862) he developed his collected field observations of soil into a systematic approach. He explained why soil formation was worthy of study and appealed for recognition of soil science as a discipline.[5][14] In the 1862 work, he presented a proposal for soil profile description, discussed the physical and chemical properties of soils, and proposed classification of soils based on mineral properties.[15] Based on these two works, Fallou is mentioned prominently as the first[1][16] among founders of modern soil science.[13][17][18]

Fallou's subsequent works were "The land of the Kingdom of Saxony and its surroundings ..." (1869) and "The main soil types of the North and Baltic countries of the German Empire scientifically considered" (1875). These along with several articles published in Julius Adolph Stöckhardt's magazine Zeitschrift für deutsche Landwirthe (Journal for German farmers) gained him recognition for his scientific advancements.[7][12][13]

Vasily Dokuchaev (1846-1903) was more influential than Fallou,[1] however in the years closely following Dokuchaev's death, Fallou was regarded as the founder of modern soil science by Dokuchaev's student, influential[6] Russian pedologist Konstantin Dmitrievich Glinka (1867-1927).[15] Fallou's historical status as founder is supported by Moscow soil scientist and bibliographer of Russian soil science, Arseny Yarilov, Editor of “Pochvovedenie” (means soil science).[19] Yarilov titled his 1904 article about Fallou in Pochvovedenie Friedrich Albert Fallou, Founder of Soil Science.[18]

Quote
  • Es giebt ja in der ganzen Natur keinen wichtigeren, keinen der Betrachtung würdigeren Gegenstand und wenn ein berühmter Philosoph und Staatsmann der Vorzeit (Cic. de off. I. 42.) den Ackerbau für das würdigste Geschäft eines freien Bürgers erklärt, so muß es auch ein ebenso würdiges Geschäft für ihn sein, sich mit dem Boden bekannt zu machen, ohne welchen kein Ackerbau denkbar.
    • There is no more important object in nature, no object more worthy of contemplation, and if a famous philosopher and statesman of the past declares agriculture to be the worthy business of a free citizen (Cic. de off. I. 42.) it would also be an equally worthy business for him to get acquainted with the soil, without which agriculture is not conceivable.
      • in Pedology or General and Special Soil Science, Dresden 1862. . Translation by Google Translate
        • Omnium autem rerum, ex quibus aliquid adquiritur, nihil est agri cultura melius, nihil uberius, nihil dulcius, nihil homine libero dignius.
          • "For of all gainful professions, nothing is better, nothing more pleasing, nothing more delightful, nothing better becomes a well-bred man than agriculture."
            • Cicero De officiis (On Dutiable Action). Book I, Section 42. Translation by Cyrus R. Edmonds (1873), p. 73

Works
  • Fallou, F. A. (1845), Die Gebirgsformationen zwischen Mittweida und Rochlitz, der Zschopau und beiden Mulden und ihr Einfluß auf die Vegetation. Versuch einer geognostischen-agronomischen Beschreibung [The mountain formations between Mittweida and Rochlitz, the Zschopau and two troughs, and their influence on vegetation. Attempt a geo-agronomic description] (in German), Leipzig: Staritz
  • Fallou, F. A. (1853), Die Ackererden des Königreichs Sachsen und der angrenzenden Gegend, geognostisch untersucht und classificiert. Eine bodenkundliche Skizze [The arable earth of the Kingdom of Saxony and the neighboring area, geology examined and classified. A soil sketch] (in German), Leipzig: Freiberg, 2nd edition published by Gerhard
  • Fallou, F. A. (1857), Anfangsgründe der Bodenkunde [First Principles of Soil Science] (in German), Dresden: G. Schönfeld´s Buchhandlung, 2nd edition published 1865
  • Fallou, F. A. (1862), Pedologie oder allgemeine und besondere Bodenkunde [Pedology or general and special soil science] (in German), Dresden: G. Schönfeld´s Buchhandlung
  • Fallou, F. A. (1869), Grund und Boden des Königreichs Sachsen und seiner Umgebung in sämmtlichen Nachbarstaaten in volks-, land- und forstwirthschaftlicher Beziehung naturwissenschaftlich untersucht [Land of the Kingdom of Saxony and all neighboring regions, scientifically studied in relationship to folks, lands, and forestry] (in German), Dresden: G. Schönfeld´s Buchhandlung
  • Fallou, F. A. (1875), Die Hauptbodenarten der Nord- und Ostsee-Länder deutschen Reiches naturwissenschaftlich betrachtet. Skizze [The main soil types of the North and Baltic countries of the German Empire scientifically considered. Sketch] (in German), Dresden: G. Schönfeld´s Buchhandlung

Notes
  1. Johnson, Donald L.; Tandarich, John P.; Follmer, Leon R. (2005). "Response to "Comments on 'Historical Development of Soil and Weathering Profile Concepts from Europe to the United States of America". Soil Science Society of America Journal. 69 (2): 572–574. doi:10.2136/sssaj2005.0572. we have three co-founders of soil science/pedology, each with his own blend of contributions, and each with his major soil works appearing respectively in 1862 (Fallou), in 1881 (Darwin), and in 1883 (Dokuchaev). In terms of priority, one can argue that Fallou clearly has the edge. In terms of significance of contributions [this remains undecided]
  2. "Fallou, Friedrich Albert: Founder of soil science & honorary citizen". Historic Personalities (in German). Waldheim. Archived from the original on 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2019-01-02. Aus diesem Amt schied er 1833 aus, um sich wieder als Advokat und Steuerrevisor zu betätigen. [From this office he left in 1833 in order to operate again as a lawyer and tax auditor.]
  3. Hartemink, Alfred E. (2010). Soil profiles: the more we see, the more we understand (PDF). 19th World Congress of Soil Science. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2019-01-02. ...studied jurisprudence at the University of Leipzig (Germany). He worked as a land tax assessor (Asio 2005) and was interested in mineralogy. Fallou was never married. His love of nature turned his attention to soils - he studied soils ... and published Pedologie oder allgemeine und besondere Bodenkunde (Fallou 1862)
  4. "Fallou, Friedrich Albert: Founder of soil science & honorary citizen". Historic Personalities (in German). Waldheim. Archived from the original on 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2019-01-02. Fallou wurde eine anerkannte Autorität auf dem Gebiet der Bodenkunde. 1845 erhielt er von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften in Leipzig einen Preis. [Fallou was a recognized authority on the field of soil science. In 1845 he was awarded by the society of sciences in Leipzig a prize.
  5. Hartemink, Alfred E. (2010). Soil profiles: the more we see, the more we understand (PDF). 19th World Congress of Soil Science. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2019-01-02. Fallou’s [1857] book contains two maps with soil and geological layers and diagrams of four soil profiles taken near Colditz, between Leipzig and Dresden in Germany
  6. Tandarich, John P.; Sprecher, Stephen W. Amundson, R.R.; Harden, J.; Singer, M. (eds.). Factors of Soil Formation: A Fiftieth Anniversary Retrospective. Soil Science Society of America. pp. 1–13. doi:10.2136/sssaspecpub33.c1. ISBN 978-0-89118-928-2. It was Fallou who proposed to elevate the Bodenkunde of Sprengel to an independent science, Naturwissenschaft Bodenkunde or Pedologie. Fallou defined Pedologie as: The sum of the knowledge derived by examining and investigating various soils according to one main concept, and put it in a systematic order so that is can be understood.
  7. Rudolph Zaunick (1961), "Fallou, Friedrich Albert", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 5, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 21; (full text online)
  8. "Friedrich Albert Fallou". Great Sons of the City. Zörbig. Archived from the original on 2017-07-01.
  9. Asio, V.B. (2005). "Comments on "Historical development of soil and weathering profile concepts from Europe to the United States of America"". Soil Science Society of America Journal. 69 (2): 571–572. doi:10.2136/sssaj2005.0571. Fallou studied geology and law, he worked as a land tax assessor and pursued the study of soil
  10. "Fallou, Friedrich Albert: Founder of soil science & honorary citizen". Historic Personalities (in German). Waldheim. Archived from the original on 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  11. Brevik, E.C.; Hartemink, A.E. (2010). "Early soil knowledge and the birth and development of soil science". Catena. 83: 23–33. doi:10.1016/j.catena.2010.06.011.
  12. Fiedler, Hans Joachim (1970). "Die bodenkundlichen Arbeiten Friedrich Albert Fallous in heutiger bodengeologischer Sicht" [The soil science works of Friedrich Albert Fallous in today's ground geological point of view]. Archives of Forestry (in German). 19: 1027–1035.
  13. W. Fischer (1955). "Friedrich Albert Fallou, der Begründer der Bodenkunde" [Friedrich Albert Fallou, the founder of soil science]. Aufschluß (in German). 6: 98–99.
  14. Hugget, R. J. (1991), Climate, Earth Processes and Earth History, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin, p. 111, ISBN 978-3642762703, ...it was not until the second half of the 19th century that the nature of soil as an independent body was acknowledged. The first to advocate that soil is a formation in its own right, not just a rock formation, was Friedrich Albert Fallou.
  15. "Nové informace o historii počátku pedologie" [New information about the early history of soil science] (PDF). Information Sheets (in Czech). Prague: VÚMOP (35): 5–6. 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-01-03. It is noteworthy that Fallou was considered the founder of soil science by Glinka, a notable pupil of Dokuchaev (paraphrased)
  16. Feller, C.; Aeschlimann, J.-P.; Frossard, E.; Lutz, V. (2008), "Friedrich Albert Fallou (1794-1877) et sa " Pédologie "" (PDF), Étude et Gestion des Sols (in French), 15: 131–137, archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-17, retrieved 2019-01-15, ... le fondateur de la pédologie, vingt années avant Dokuchaev. [...founder of pedology twenty years before Dokuchaev]
  17. H. Kaden (2013). "Friedrich Albert Fallou und der Begruendung der Bodenkunde" [Friedrich Albert Fallou and the Founding of Soil Science]. Waldheimer Heimatblaetter (in German). 33. Archived from the original on 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  18. Yarilov, A.A. (1904). "Fr. A'b, Fallu, osnovatel' pedologii" [Fr. A'b, Fallu, founder of soil science]. Pochvovedenie (in Russian). 2: 125–135.
  19. "On The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Ekaterina A. Yarilova" (PDF). Soil Morphology & Micromorphology Newsletter. International Union of Soil Sciences. 9: 1–9. 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
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