Georgius Agricola (; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a
German Catholic, scholar and scientist. Known as "the father of
mineralogy", he was born at
Glauchau in
Saxony. His birth name was
Georg Pawer (
Bauer in modern German);
Agricola is the
Latinized version of his name, by which he was known his entire adult life;
Agricola and
Bauer mean "farmer" in their respective languages. He is best known for his book
De Re Metallica (1556).