1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Gesner, Abraham

GESNER, ABRAHAM (1797–1864), Canadian geologist, was born in Nova Scotia in 1797. He qualified as a doctor of medicine in London in 1827. Returning to the Dominion, he published in 1836 Remarks on the Geology and Mineralogy of Nova Scotia, and continuing his researches he was enabled in 1843 to bring before the Geological Society of London “A Geological Map of Nova Scotia, with an accompanying Memoir” (Proc. Geol. Soc. iv. 186). In 1849 he issued a volume on the industrial resources of the country. He dealt also with the geology and mineralogy of New Brunswick and Prince Edward’s Island. Devoting himself to the economic side of geology in various parts of North America, he was enabled to bring out in 1861 A Practical Treatise on Coal, Petroleum and other Distilled Oils. He died at Halifax, N.S., on the 29th of April 1864.