HEER, OSWALD Swiss geologist and natural ist, was born at Nieder-Utzwyl in Canton St. Gallen on Aug. 31, 1809. He was a pioneer in palaeobotany, distinguished for his researches on the Miocene flora. In 1851 he became professor of botany in the University of Zurich, and he directed his attention to the plants and insects of Switzerland. For some time he was director of the botanic garden at Zurich. He died at Lausanne on Sept. 27, 1883.
He published Flora Tertiaria Helvetiae (3 vols., ; Die Urwelt der Schweiz (1865) , and Flora f ossilis Arctica (1868-83) .