The Multitalented Philipp Gosset, 1838–1911

Philipp Charles Gosset, born in Bern in 1838 as an Englishman and died in Bern in 1911, was a man of many talents. He gained national recognition for his glacier research. However, his field of activity was far broader. A team of authors provides insight into his eventful life. Gosset grew up in Bern and trained as an engineer in Paris. Back in Switzerland, he worked as a neighborhood planner (Bern-Kirchenfeld and Kirchenfeldbrücke), a railway engineer (the Simplon line between Saint-Maurice and Brig), an employee of the Swiss Federal Staff Office (Siegfried Map, lake depth measurements, topographic modeling, firing tests), avalanche and glacier researcher (Rhône Glacier), freelance surveying engineer, and manager of the Canadian Tree Nursery in Wabern, which he inherited from his father. Gosset left his mark. Not least because his strong sense of justice brought him into conflict with his employers and clients on several occasions.

Edited by Georg Germann, an art and architecture historian in Bern and long-time director of the Bern Historical Museum. With contributions by historian Quirinus Reichen, engineer and cartographic historian Martin Rickenbacher, art and architecture historian Jürg Schweizer, and landscape heritage conservator Steffen Osoegawa.

Germann, Georg (ed.). The Multitalented Philipp Gosset 1838–1911: Alpinist, Glacier Researcher, Landscape Gardener, Topographer. Baden, hier + jetzt, 2014.