.gif)
Aleksander Zawadzki (naturalist)
Encyclopedia
Aleksander Zawadzki, born Józef Antoni Zawadzki, (6 May 1798 in Bielsko
, Cieszyn Silesia
– 5 June 1868 in Brno
) was a Polish
naturalist
, author of flora and fauna lists of the Galicia region and the neighbourhood of Lviv
. He was also the first scientist who studied and catalogued the beetles and butterflies of Eastern Galicia.
.
In the years 1854–68 he studied evolution
, and in Brno, where he arrived as a result of the turmoil caused by the Spring of Nations
(Wiosna Ludów), became a mentor of Gregor Mendel
, directing his talent toward the development of the theory of evolution and helping to lay the foundations of genetics
.
He was a member of several scientific societies, and the editor of Lviv's magazines Rozmaitości and Mnemozyna.
Chrysanthemum zawadskii, a species of chrysanthemum
described by Franz Herbich, is named after him.
Bielsko
Bielsko was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town....
, Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...
– 5 June 1868 in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
) was a Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
, author of flora and fauna lists of the Galicia region and the neighbourhood of Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
. He was also the first scientist who studied and catalogued the beetles and butterflies of Eastern Galicia.
Biography
Zawadski was the teacher of zoologist Stanisław Konstanty Pietruski and between 1835–37 he was a lecturer of botany and then professor of physics (1849–53) at Lviv UniversityLviv University
The Lviv University or officially the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv is the oldest continuously operating university in Ukraine...
.
In the years 1854–68 he studied evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, and in Brno, where he arrived as a result of the turmoil caused by the Spring of Nations
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
(Wiosna Ludów), became a mentor of Gregor Mendel
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian scientist and Augustinian friar who gained posthumous fame as the founder of the new science of genetics. Mendel demonstrated that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance...
, directing his talent toward the development of the theory of evolution and helping to lay the foundations of genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
.
He was a member of several scientific societies, and the editor of Lviv's magazines Rozmaitości and Mnemozyna.
Chrysanthemum zawadskii, a species of chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
described by Franz Herbich, is named after him.