Friedrich Mohs

Friedrich Mohs (January 29, 1773 - September 29, 1839) was a German geologist/mineralogist.

Mohs, born in Gernrode, Germany, studied chemistry, mathematics and physics. He started classifying minerals by their physical characteristics, in spite of their chemical composition, as it was done before. He created a hardness scale that is still used as Mohs scale of mineral hardness.

In 1812, Mohs became professor in Graz; in 1818, professor in Freiberg, Saxony; in 1826, professor in Vienna.

Mohs died during a trip to Italy in Agordo near Belluno.