About the artwork The 42 plaques around the inner courtyard honour renowned earth scientists. The top row was mounted when the building was constructed around 1915, the bottom row added in 2009 during its refurbishment. The scientists represented here had a significant impact on research and teaching. They shared a relationship with nature and the world, whether in improving or exploiting it. Some of them prepared the ground for colonialism by scientifically legitimising racial theories, defending the slave trade or deriving personal benefit from colonial endeavours. Others, for their part, spoke out against colonialism or the slave trade. Many, however, shared a sense of the superiority of Western civilisation over non-European regions, emphasising the role of Western culture in missionising and educating “primitive” communities or benefitting personally from the practices of colonialist exploitation. Factsheet Stone memorial plaques, gold leaf ETH Zurich, Zentrum, building NO Inner courtyard, level E (above the arches) Mon–Fri, 07.00–20.30 Sa, closed Sun, 10.00-16.00 Memorial plaque for Louis Agassiz, ca. 1915, north wall About the person Louis Agassiz (1807-1873, zoologist, geologist, palaeontologist, Switzerland/USA) was one of the most important proponents of the Ice Age theory formulated in the first half of the 19th century. The realisation that glaciers had expanded more in the past than they do today opened up new insights into the short-term variability of climate by geological standards. But Agassiz was also a classic exponent of scientific racism. He tried to prove that blacks and whites were created in separate acts of divine creation, and that blacks belonged to an inferior ‘race’ incapable of cultural development. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00058 Further contextual information on Louis Agassiz (1807–1873) Memorial plaque for James Dwight Dana, ca. 1915, north wall About the personJames D. Dana (1813-1895, geologist, mineralogist and zoologist, USA) is considered one of the most important American geologists of his time. He was a professor of natural history at Yale University. He became famous for his participation in scientific expeditions. The travelogues he wrote during these expeditions reveal the arrogance and presumptuousness of his time towards indigenous societies, which Dana described as barbaric, illiterate and even cannibalistic. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00061 Further contextual information on James Dwight Dana (1813–1895) Memorial plaque for Arnold Escher von der Linth, ca. 1915, west wall About the person Arnold Escher von der Linth (1807-1872, geologist and mineralogist, Switzerland) was of outstanding importance for the geology of Switzerland. He laid the foundations for understanding Alpine thrust tectonics and coined several geological terms that are still in use today. However, Escher von der Linth was also convinced that the colonialism of his time was justified and that the colonial powers should act primarily to protect and save the colonised countries. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00064 Further contextual information on Arnold Escher von der Linth (1807–1872) Memorial plaque for Carl Wilhelm von Gümbel, ca. 1915, north wall About the person Carl Wilhelm von Gümbel (1823-1898, geologist and mineralogist, Germany) dedicated his life’s work mainly to the geological exploration of Bavaria and left behind an important geoscientific collection. However, Gümbel also put his scientific work at the service of colonial resource extraction, making his geological knowledge available for gold mining in regions of West Africa. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00081 Further contextual information on Carl Wilhelm von Gümbel (1823–1898) Memorial plaque for Julius von Hann, ca. 1915, south wall About the person Julius von Hann (1839-1921, meteorologist, Austria) was director of the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geomagnetism in Vienna from 1877 and also a full professor of physics at the University of Vienna. He is considered a pioneer of climate research and the scientist who established the reputation of Austrian meteorology. Hann’s non-European fieldwork was characterised by the devaluation of indigenous knowledge and the denial of its equal value. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00082 Further contextual information on von Hann (1839–1921) Memorial plaque for Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt, ca. 1915, west wall About the person Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859, naturalist, Germany) is considered one of the last universal scholars and co-founder of geography as an empirical science. He conducted his research during several years of travel to South America, the United States and Central Asia. Humboldt was an opponent of colonialism. At the same time, his expertise was used to exploit local resources as part of the colonial programmes of European colonialists. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00083 Further contextual information on Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) Memorial plaque for Charles Lyell, ca. 1915, south wall About the person Charles Lyell (1797-1875, geologist, Great Britain) was a Scottish scientist who made fundamental contributions to the understanding of geological time, which are still used today in the context of the history of knowledge. He also laid the foundations for evolutionary biology and the understanding of the development of the Earth. At the same time, Lyell was a classic exponent of scientific racism, which prepared the ideological ground for racist education and action, thus helping to justify the colonisation of non-European regions. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00068 Further contextual information on Charles Lyell (1797–1875) Memorial plaque for Peter Merian, ca. 1915, south wall About the person Peter Merian (1795-1883, natural scientist, Switzerland) was a full professor of physics and chemistry at the University of Basel and an honorary professor of geology and petrefactology (a precursor to palaeontology). He is regarded as one of the most important representatives of natural history research in Basel in the 19th century. Under Merian’s leadership, the collections of the Natural History Museum of Basel were continuously expanded. Naturally, this included specimens from European colonial expansion. Some of these have since been restituted. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00069 Further contextual information on Peter Merian (1795–1883) Memorial plaque for Roderick Impey Murchison, ca. 1915, north wall About the person Roderick Impey Murchison (1792-1871, geologist, Great Britain) contributed to the conceptualisation of geological eras and coined some of the names of geological periods. As Director General of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, his work served not only geological research but also the exploitation of raw materials in non-European areas. This made Murchison a supporter of British colonisation. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00071 Further contextual information on Roderick Impey Murchison (1792–1871) Memorial plaque for John Murray, ca. 1915, south wall About the person John Murray (1841-1914, naturalist and oceanographer, Great Britain) is considered one of the founders of oceanography. Expeditions to overseas territories were an important part of his work. However, his aim was not only to survey the oceans, but also to search for raw materials. Murray’s geological knowledge was used both for research and for the economic expansion of Britain. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00072 Further contextual information on John Murray (1841–1914) Memorial plaque for Alcide Dessalines d’Orbigny, ca. 1915, north wall About the person Alcide Dessalines d’Orbigny (1802-1857, geologist and palaeontologist, France) is considered the founder of stratigraphic palaeontology. He brought back an impressive haul of objects and information from his expeditions. In addition to scientific studies, d’Orbigny also carried out anthropological and ethnographic research with the aim of bringing progress and the ‘right’ religion to colonised societies and introducing them to European ‘civilisation’. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00060 Further contextual information on Alcide Dessalines d’Orbigny (1802–1857) Memorial plaque for Friedrich Ratzel, ca. 1915, south wall About the person Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904, geographer and zoologist, Germany) was professor of geography at the Technical University of Munich and later in Leipzig. He is regarded as the founder of anthropogeography. In this context, he popularised several terms that became part of the basic vocabulary of colonial justification discourses. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00075 Further contextual information on Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904) Memorial plaque for Elisée Reclus, ca. 1915, south wall About the person Elisée Reclus (1830-1905, geographer, France) made a significant contribution to the establishment of geography as a scientific discipline. An unconventional thinker and anarchist, he criticised the colonialist policies of European countries. At the same time, in the spirit of the anarchist movement, Reclus believed in the mission of the West to change and improve the world through the tools of science. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00076 Further contextual information on Elisée Reclus (1830–1905) Memorial plaque for Ferdinand von Richthofen, ca. 1915, north wall About the personFerdinand von Richthofen (1833-1906, geologist and geographer, Germany) is considered an important scientist of the second half of the 19th century in Germany. His expeditions to China made him an acknowledged expert on the country. Throughout his life, Richthofen pointed out the economic possibilities of exploiting tropical colonies, but also of penetrating Asian regions – a world of ‘weak races’. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00085 Further contextual information on Ferdinand Paul Wilhelm Dieprand Freiherr von Richthofen (1833–1906) Memorial plaque for Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, ca. 1915, west wall About the person Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672-1733, naturalist and polymath, Switzerland) is regarded as an important Baroque natural historian who already worked empirically. Although he argued both morally and scientifically, he met with great resistance from church circles. Scheuchzer was a classic exponent of climate determinism, which in the 18th century explained the ‘nature of man’ in terms of the nature of his environment. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00078 Further contextual information on Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672–1733) Memorial plaque for Robert Sinclair Dietz, 2009, west wall About the person Robert Sinclair Dietz (1914-1995, geophysicist and oceanographer, USA) was a marine geologist who devoted himself primarily to the exploration of the Pacific Basin. He was an early and staunch proponent of the then-revolutionary theory of continental drift, and coined the term seafloor spreading. Dietz advocated eugenic techniques to curb uncontrolled population growth, which he saw as the major problem of his time. Further contextual information on Robert Sinclair Dietz (1914–1995) Memorial plaque for Eduard Suess, ca. 1915, east wall About the person Eduard Suess (1831-1914, geologist and politician, Austria) was a professor of geology at the University of Vienna. An expert on Alpine tectonics, he is considered the founder of modern geology in Austria. Suess believed that science had an important role to play in bringing people out of their ignorance, especially in non-Western countries, which he described as ‘primitive’ and ‘uncivilised’ and urged them to modernise. Art Inventory ETH Zurich, Ki-00080 Further contextual information on Eduard Suess (1831–1914) Memorial plaque for Alfred Lothar Wegener, 2009, west wall About the person Alfred Lothar Wegener (1880-1930, meteorologist and geophysicist, Germany) taught in Marburg and Hamburg and was Professor of Meteorology and Geophysics at the University of Graz. He was the first to formulate the hypothesis of continental drift, which had not been recognised at the time. During his expeditions, Wegener relied on the traditional knowledge and expertise of indigenous people, without which he could not have done his research or survived. However, indigenous people did not receive adequate recognition for their efforts. Further contextual information on Alfred Lothar Wegener (1880–1930)