The Rodderberg Project

Looking at the loess in the crater of the Rodderberg (Roderberg) volcano (www.liag-hannover.de)

Charles Darwin and the Loess of the Rhine Valley

There is only one mention of loess in the 'Origin of Species'.  It contains an interesting assumption and an interesting deduction:

"We have evidence in the loess of the Rhine of considerable changes of level in the land within a very recent geological period, and when the surface was peopled by existing land and fresh-water shells."

Darwin deploys Lyell's hypothesis for the formation of the Rhine loess. The Lyell idea would not be replaced until around 1890 when the Aeolian theory became dominant.

Leonard Horner (1785-1864)

Leonard Horner: geologist and loess enthusiast. Also father of six daughters and inspector of factories who worked hard to improve the conditions in British mills and factories in the nineteenth century. His efforts on behalf of the workers gained him plaudits from Karl Marx in the pages of Das Kapital. Friend (and father-in-law) of Charles Lyell; they shared an interest in loess- Lyell the scholar & Horner the enthusiast. He was the first loess enthusiast. Read about him in the great book by Patrick N.O'Farrell.

"Leonard Horner, einer der Factory inquiry Commissioners von 1833 und Fabrikinspektor, in der Tat Fabrikzensor, bis 1859, hat unsterbliche Verdienste um englische Arbeiterklasses gewonnen" Karl Marx Das Kapital 1867.