NAME: Freidrich Mohs (German)

BORN/DIED: 29th Jan 1773 – 29th Sept 1839

JOB: Geologist, Mineralogist

KEY FACTS: Freidrich Mohs was born in Germany. He was well educated and studied physics, chemistry and mathematics at university. He worked in a mine and developed an interest in minerals. He later took a job in Austria where he was required to sort minerals by their physical characteristics. This led him to develop a hardness scale (the hardest mineral, diamond, was given the value of 10 and the softest, talc, was given a value of 1). He realised that some minerals could scratch others and if they could make a scratch on another then they must be harder.

ACHIEVEMENTS: He is well known for his creation of ‘Moh’s scale of hardness’.