Born in Berlin, he was educated at the university in that city, and afterwards at Bonn, where he studied under Georg August Goldfuss and Johann Jakob Nöggerath.
[1] In 1848 Ernst Beyrich married Clementine Helm, who later became famous as author of numerous books for children and Young adult fiction.
He early recognized the value of palaeontology in stratigraphical work, and conducted important research in the Rhenish mountains and in the Harz and Alpine districts.
In later years he gave special attention to the Cenozoic strata, including the Brown coal of North Germany.
In 1865 he was appointed professor of geology and palaeontology at Berlin University, where he was eminently successful as a teacher.