Franz Martin Hilgendorf
Encyclopedia
Franz Martin Hilgendorf (December 5, 1839 – July 5, 1904) was a German zoologist
and paleontologist
. Hilgendorf's research on fossil snail
s from the Steinheim crater
in the early 1860s became a palaeontological evidence for the theory of evolution
published by Charles Darwin
in 1859.
. Between 1851 and 1854 he went to a gymnasium in Königsberg (Neumark)
and later to the Gymnasium Zum Grauen Kloster (Grey Monastery)
in Berlin where he graduated in 1858. In 1859 he started studying philology
at the University of Berlin. After four semesters he changed to the University of Tübingen. In the summer of 1862 he joined an excavation by Friedrich August Quenstedt in the Steinheim crater
. In 1863 Hilgendorf received his Ph.D. for work related to this excavation. He finished his research on the fossils during his time at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. in 1868 Hilgendorf became director of the aquarium of the Zoological Garden of Hamburg
and in 1870 and 1871 he worked as librarian at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. In 1873 Hilgendorf was appointed lecturer at the Imperial Medical Academy Tokyo. He stayed in Japan from 1873 till 1876 and published articles and collected several specimens of Japanese fauna. Hilgendorf returned to Germany with his collection and worked in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. He was first responsible for the worms and snails section and from 1896 the fish section. In 1890 Gustav Wilhelm Müller identified a new species of ostracod
crustacean
in the collection of Hilgendorf and named it Cypridina hilgendorfii. This name changed to Vargula hilgendorfii in 1962. Hilgendorf suffered from a gastric illness. He stopped working in 1903 and died from that illness July 5, 1904.
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and paleontologist
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
. Hilgendorf's research on fossil snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s from the Steinheim crater
Steinheim crater
The Steinheim crater is a meteorite crater in Steinheim am Albuch, Heidenheim County, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The crater is located at the northeastern end of the Swabian Alb near the much larger Nördlinger Ries crater and was most probably formed simultaneously with it by the oblique, ENE...
in the early 1860s became a palaeontological evidence for the theory of 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...
published by 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...
in 1859.
Life and work
Franz Hilgendorf was born December 5, 1839 in Neudamm (Mark Brandenburg)Debno
Dębno is a town in Myślibórz County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It has a population of 13,863 . The Dębno oil field is located near to the town.-Twin towns — sister cities:Dębno is twinned with:* Strausberg - Germany...
. Between 1851 and 1854 he went to a gymnasium in Königsberg (Neumark)
Chojna
Chojna is a small town in western Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately 60 km south of Szczecin and participates in the Douzelage....
and later to the Gymnasium Zum Grauen Kloster (Grey Monastery)
Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster
The Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster is the oldest Gymnasium in Berlin and continues to this day as the Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster. It is a private school with a humanistic profile and known as one of the most prestigious schools in Germany...
in Berlin where he graduated in 1858. In 1859 he started studying philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
at the University of Berlin. After four semesters he changed to the University of Tübingen. In the summer of 1862 he joined an excavation by Friedrich August Quenstedt in the Steinheim crater
Steinheim crater
The Steinheim crater is a meteorite crater in Steinheim am Albuch, Heidenheim County, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The crater is located at the northeastern end of the Swabian Alb near the much larger Nördlinger Ries crater and was most probably formed simultaneously with it by the oblique, ENE...
. In 1863 Hilgendorf received his Ph.D. for work related to this excavation. He finished his research on the fossils during his time at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. in 1868 Hilgendorf became director of the aquarium of the Zoological Garden of Hamburg
Zoological Garden of Hamburg
The Zoological Garden of Hamburg was a zoo in Hamburg, Germany that operated from 1863 until 1930. Its aquarium, which opened in 1864, was among the first in the world.- Founding :...
and in 1870 and 1871 he worked as librarian at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. In 1873 Hilgendorf was appointed lecturer at the Imperial Medical Academy Tokyo. He stayed in Japan from 1873 till 1876 and published articles and collected several specimens of Japanese fauna. Hilgendorf returned to Germany with his collection and worked in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. He was first responsible for the worms and snails section and from 1896 the fish section. In 1890 Gustav Wilhelm Müller identified a new species of ostracod
Ostracod
Ostracoda is a class of the Crustacea, sometimes known as the seed shrimp because of their appearance. Some 65,000 species have been identified, grouped into several orders....
crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
in the collection of Hilgendorf and named it Cypridina hilgendorfii. This name changed to Vargula hilgendorfii in 1962. Hilgendorf suffered from a gastric illness. He stopped working in 1903 and died from that illness July 5, 1904.
External links
- Alles über das Steinheimer Becken und einiges zu den Arbeiten Franz Hilgendorf`s (Everything on the Steinheim crater and al ittle bit on the work of Franz Hilgendorf)
- Website der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Natur- und Völkerkunde Ostasiens
- 140 Jahre Hilgendorfs Steinheimer Schnecken-Stammbaum: der älteste fossile Stammbaum aus heutiger Sicht (140 years of Hilgendorfs genealogical tree of Steinheimer Snails: the oldest genealogical tree of fossils seen from today)