Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Teste, Lucien Auguste

TESTE, Lucien Auguste (test), Swiss geologist, b. in the canton of Valois in 1765; d. in Rome, Italy, in 1817. He was attached to the expeditions around the world under command of Capt. Malaspina in 1789-'95, during which time he studied everywhere the geological formations and formed valuable collections. After his return to Vienna he became an assistant professor of geology in the university, and subsequently a corresponding member of the Academy of sciences. He was appointed in 1805 professor in the University of Milan, and in 1815 was sent to Brazil, where great geological discoveries had been made. He explored the environs of Rio Janeiro and visited Bahia; but his health failed, and he returned to Europe. His works include “Observations géologiques faites en Asie et en Amérique par un des membres de l'expédition autour du monde du Capitaine Malaspina, 1789-1795” (2 vols., Geneva, 1798); “Geologischer Atlas der ganzen Erde” (Vienna, 1800); “Dialoge und kleine Aufsätze über die Geologie und Geognostie ” (1802); “Bemerkungen über die Geologie von Südamerika” (2 vols., 1805); and “Entwurf eines Systems der geognostischen und geologischen Beschreibung der Erde” (1815).