Carl August Dohrn
Encyclopedia
Carl August Dohrn was a German
entomologist
.
, now Poland
) Carl August was the son of Heinrich Dohrn, who was a wine and spice merchant, and had made the family fortune by trading in sugar. This wealth allowed Carl August to devote himself to his various hobbies; travelling, folk music and insects.
Although interested in all orders of insects Dohrn specialised in Coleoptera.His first published paper was in the Entomologische Zeitung for 1845 but he was an active entomologist long before this, since he had acted as Secretary to the Stettin Entomological Society
from its foundation in 1839 and edited its journal. He was elected president of the society in 1843 retiring from the post in 1887.During this time he held together the rather fractious German entomologists and the society flourished. Dohrn had many contacts including Alexander Henry Haliday
, with whom he wrote a paper on the Linnaean
Diptera
(See Talk:Carl August Dohrn) and the London entomologists. He was a personal friend of Henry Tibbats Stainton
with whom he stayed in England.
A frequent visitor to London
he was accompanied by the Lepidopterist
, Philipp Christoph Zeller
in 1852, by Carl Henrik Boheman
in 1854 and by Hermann August Hagen
in 1857. He spent many summers in Italy, in Lucca
with Haliday and in Turin
with Maximilian Spinola
. Dohrn was elected a fellow of the Entomological Society of London in 1855 and an honorary member in 1855. A classicist
he was fluent in many European languages. His Coleoptera collection was very extensive and just prior to his death, at 86, he had received upwards of 1,000 beetles from Sumatra
.
, an ardent supporter of Charles Darwin
, became a famous marine zoologist. A second son Heinrich Wolfgang Ludwig Dohrn
was also an entomologist.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
.
Biography
Born at Stettin (SzczecinSzczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, now Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) Carl August was the son of Heinrich Dohrn, who was a wine and spice merchant, and had made the family fortune by trading in sugar. This wealth allowed Carl August to devote himself to his various hobbies; travelling, folk music and insects.
Although interested in all orders of insects Dohrn specialised in Coleoptera.His first published paper was in the Entomologische Zeitung for 1845 but he was an active entomologist long before this, since he had acted as Secretary to the Stettin Entomological Society
Stettin Entomological Society
The Entomological Society of Stettin or Stettin Entomological Society, based in Stettin , was one of the leading entomological societies of the 19th century. Most German entomologists were members, as were many from England, Sweden, Italy, France, and Spain...
from its foundation in 1839 and edited its journal. He was elected president of the society in 1843 retiring from the post in 1887.During this time he held together the rather fractious German entomologists and the society flourished. Dohrn had many contacts including Alexander Henry Haliday
Alexander Henry Haliday
Alexander Henry Haliday, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday and Alexis Heinrich Haliday sometimes Halliday , was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera and Thysanoptera, but Haliday worked on all insect orders and on many aspects of entomology.Haliday...
, with whom he wrote a paper on the Linnaean
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
(See Talk:Carl August Dohrn) and the London entomologists. He was a personal friend of Henry Tibbats Stainton
Henry Tibbats Stainton
Henry Tibbats Stainton was an English entomologist.He was educated at King's College London.He was the author of Manual of British Butterflies and Moths and with the German entomologist Philipp Christoph Zeller, a Swiss, Heinrich Frey and another Englishman, John William Douglas of The Natural...
with whom he stayed in England.
A frequent visitor to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
he was accompanied by the Lepidopterist
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
, Philipp Christoph Zeller
Philipp Christoph Zeller
Philipp Christoph Zeller was a German entomologist.Zeller was born at Steinheim Württemberg, two miles from Marbach, the birthplace of Schiller. The family moved to Frankfurt where Philip went to the gymnasium where natural history was not taught. Instead, helped by Alois Metzner, he taught...
in 1852, by Carl Henrik Boheman
Carl Henrik Boheman
Carl Henrik Boheman was a Swedish entomologist.Boheman studied at Lund University and trained as an officer, participating in the invasion of Norway in 1814...
in 1854 and by Hermann August Hagen
Hermann August Hagen
Hermann August Hagen was a German entomologist who specialised in Neuroptera and Odonata. In 1845 he began to collaborate with Edmond de Sélys Longchamps .-Biography:...
in 1857. He spent many summers in Italy, in Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
with Haliday and in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
with Maximilian Spinola
Maximilian Spinola
-Background:Spinola was born in Pézenas, Hérault, France. The family of Spinola was of very long standing and had great wealth and power in Genoa. Maximilian Spinola was a descendant of the famous Spanish General Ambrogio Spinola, marqués de los Balbases and much of his wealth derived from land...
. Dohrn was elected a fellow of the Entomological Society of London in 1855 and an honorary member in 1855. A classicist
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
he was fluent in many European languages. His Coleoptera collection was very extensive and just prior to his death, at 86, he had received upwards of 1,000 beetles from Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
.
Personal
Dohrn's son Anton DohrnAnton Dohrn
Felix Anton Dohrn was a prominent German Darwinist and the founder and first director of the Stazione Zoologica, Naples, Italy.-Family history:...
, an ardent supporter of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, became a famous marine zoologist. A second son Heinrich Wolfgang Ludwig Dohrn
Heinrich Wolfgang Ludwig Dohrn
Heinrich Wolfgang Ludwig Dohrn was a German zoologist, entomologist and malacologist....
was also an entomologist.