Pentti Eskola

Born Jan. 8, 1883, in Lellainen, Honkilahti; died Dec. 6, 1964, in Helsinki. Finnish petrologist. Member of the Academy of Finland (1921).

Eskola graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1906; in 1910 he began teaching there, and from 1924 to 1953 he was a professor of mineralogy and petrology. In 1928 he became the director of a geological institute. He conducted geological studies in Scandinavia, North America, and Transbaikalia. Eskola’s principal works dealt with the Precambrian in Finland and Karelia and with the metamorphic differentiation, anatexis, and origin of pore magma. Eskola was the first to apply the principles of physical chemistry to problems of petrology, and in 1920 he formulated the concept of mineral facies.