Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
Friedrich Johann Karl Becke
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Read Next
Benedictine abbey of Melk, Austria.
20 Must-See Buildings in Austria
Defenestration of Prague, this incident marks the beginning of the Thirty Years' War in 1618.
Defenestration: Prague's History of Literally Throwing Authority Out the Window
Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station, designed by Otto Wagner, operated from 1899 unti l981 when the rail line was converted to a subway. The two identical buildings were repurposed as an art gallery and a cafe with stairs to the newer underground station.
12 Revolutionary Buildings to Visit in Vienna
Discover
Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.
Why Is Ireland Two Countries?
Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that
America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)
Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece
Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents
New York NY/ USA- November 23, 2018 Hordes of shoppers throng the Macy's Herald Square flagship store in New York looking for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday.
Why Is It Called Black Friday?
Plato (left) and Aristotle, detail from School of Athens, fresco by Raphael, 1508-11; in the Stanza della Segnatura, the Vatican. Plato points to the heavens and the realm of Forms, Aristotle to the earth and the realm of things.
Plato and Aristotle: How Do They Differ?
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
Adolf Hitler (Nazi, nazism, German leader).
9 Things You Might Not Know About Adolf Hitler

Friedrich Johann Karl Becke

Austrian mineralogist
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
Quick Facts
Born:
Dec. 31, 1855, Prague, Bohemia, Austrian Empire
Died:
June 18, 1931, Vienna, Austria (aged 75)

Friedrich Johann Karl Becke (born Dec. 31, 1855, Prague, Bohemia, Austrian Empire—died June 18, 1931, Vienna, Austria) was a mineralogist who in 1903 presented to the International Geological Congress a paper on the composition and texture of the crystalline schists. Published in amplified form in 1913, his paper contained the first comprehensive theory of metamorphic rocks and proved to be singularly fruitful for advances in their study. Becke’s subsequent work on retrogressive metamorphism led to a deeper understanding of many ancient mountain belts.

Becke studied mineralogy and allied sciences in Vienna under Gustav Tschermak, whose Mineralogische und petrographische Mitteilungen (“Mineralogical and Petrographical Notices”) he edited after 1899. Becke was appointed to the chair of mineralogy at the University of Vienna in 1898, became rector of the university in 1921, and retired in 1927.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.