Person
Menge, Johann (1788 - 1852)
- Born
- 24 January 1788
Steinau, Hesse, Germany - Died
- 1852
Forest Creek, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Mineralogist and Geologist
Summary
Johann Menge was engaged by the South Australian Company as a mine and quarry agent in 1836-1838 and spent some years after that making frequent excursions to study soils and minerals in the region. He was eccentric and once refused an invitation to organise a mining company with British capital, because he was too busy planning a Chinese missionary college.
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Details
Chronology
- 1805 - 1816
- Career position - Technical Assistant and later Business Associate, Leon Hard Collector and Salesperson of Geological Specimens
- 1816 - 1830
- Career position - Geological Travel, Religious Publisher, Lubeck, Germany
- 1830 - 1836
- Career position - Writer and Editor of a Chinese Dictionary, England
- 1830 - 1836
- Career position - Language Teacher, England
- 1830 - 1836
- Career position - Translator, British and Foreign Bible Society, England
- 1836 - 1838
- Career position - Mine and Quarry Agent, South Australian Company, Australia
- 1840
- Career event - Published Mineral Kingdom of South Australia
Published resources
Books
- Cawthorne, W. A., Menge the Mineralogist: a sketch of the life of the late Johann Menge, linguist, mineralogist, &c. &c., an early colonist, and discoverer of precious stones in South Australia, containing also, his eccentric views on demonology, astronomy, &c. (Adelaide: J. T. Sawyer, 1859), 33 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Abbe, D. Van, 'Menge, Johann (1788-1852), geologist and linguist' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Douglas Pike, ed., vol. 2 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1967), p. 222. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020189b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Abbe, D. Van, 'A German Eccentric in South Australia, 1836-1852', Historical Studies, 39 (November) (1962). Details
- Annells, Mal, 'Johann Menge, Mineralogist', Mineralogical News, Journal of the Mineralogical Society of South Australia, 4 (1984), 128-132. Details
- Corbett, David W.P., 'Johannes Menge (1788-1852) - South Australia's First Geologist', Newsletter (Earth Sciences History Group), 7 (June) (1986), 3-4. Details
- Grguric, Benjamin A.; and Hansen, Robin, 'The discovery of a probable Johannes Menge specimen and other 1851 Great Exhibition South Australian specimens', Australian journal of mineralogy, 21 (1) (2020), 19-26. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q124155. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/30338825. Details
- 'Menge, Johann (1788-1852)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1469573. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 15 May 2018
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education