Hauer was born in
Vienna, the son of
Joseph von Hauer (1778-1863), who was equally distinguished as a high Austrian official and authority on finance and as a
palaeontologist. He studied
geology at the mining academy of
Schemnitz (1839-1843), and for a time was engaged in official mining work in
Styria. In 1846, he became assistant to
Wilhelm von Haidinger at the mineralogical museum in Vienna; three years later he joined the imperial geological institute, and in 1866 he was appointed director. In 1886, he became superintendent of the
Imperial Natural History Museum in Vienna. Among his special geological works are those on the
Cephalopoda of the
Triassic and
Jurassic formations of Alpine regions (1855-1856). he recognized and discovered 89 species and established the Middle and Late Triassic stratigraphical units of deep shelf environments. His most important general work was that of the
Geological Map of Austro-Hungary, in twelve sheets (1867-1871; 4th ed. 1884, including
Bosnia and
Montenegro). This map was accompanied by a series of explanatory pamphlets. In 1874, he was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society. In 1882, he was awarded the
Wollaston medal by the
Geological Society of London. He was also elected as the foreign correspondent of the Geological Society of London. In 1892, von Hauer became a life-member of the upper house (
Herrenhaus) of the Austrian parliament. The mineral
Hauerite is named after the two von Hauers. ==Notes==