History
2020 marked the 100th anniversary of geology at the LMU Munich. The pandemic prevented the celebration, but we are catching up on July 4th, 2025: join us.
Until 1920, Geology and Paleontology at Ludwig-Maximilians University were united within a single institute. They shared space with the State Collection of Geology and Paleontology (Staatssammlung für Geologie und Paläontologie), which operated independently and had its own funding.
The founding of the Institut für Allgemeine und Angewandte Geologie (IAAG) on October 1, 1920, was made possible by a private endowment. At the time, the only full professor of Geology and Paleontology, A. Rothpletz, initiated the establishment of a separate Chair along with a corresponding state collection.
Although the original endowment proved insufficient and was eventually lost during the period of inflation, the Chair itself remained. The State of Bavaria subsequently assumed responsibility for the institute.
Chair of Geology since 1920 (German version only)
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Erich Kaiser
1920 to 1934
Prof. Dr. Leopold Kölbl
1934 to 1941
Prof. Dr. Ernst Kraus
1941 to 1945
Prof. Dr. Albert Maucher
1946 to 1973
Prof. Dr. h.c. Klaus Schmidt
1973 to 1983
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hubert Miller (3.4.1936 - 26.2.2020)
1986 to 2004
In 2002, the Institut für Allgemeine und Angewandte Geologie (IAAG) merged with the Institutes for Mineralogy, Crystallography, Geophysics, Paleontology, and Geography to form the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, one of the largest university research and teaching unit in the field of geosciences in Germany. Geography has since formed its own Department.
Since 2007, Prof. Dr. Anke M. Friedrich is Chair of Geology.