Oscar Werner Tiegs
Encyclopedia
Oscar Werner Tiegs was an Australian zoologist whose career spanned the first half of the 20th century.
Oscar Tiegs was born on 12 March 1897, and died on 5 November 1956.
His contribution to the division of the phylum
arthropoda into two parts, one including insecta, myriapoda
, and peripatus
, and the other including trilobites, crustacea, and arachnids, is considered to be an important contribution to zoology
. He was acknowledged as having a remarkable ability for apt and beautiful drawings, and as being an excellent microscopist, as having a great capacity for meticulous accuracy, persistent work, and shrewd illicitation of relationships from massive detail. He is considered one of Australia's great zoologists and as having a permanent place in the history of zoology
.
He was a Doctor of Science
(University of Adelaide
), a Fellow of the Royal Society
, and a founding Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
.
, migrated to Australia
from Germany
. The Royal Society
states that Otto Tiegs had careers in both pharmacy
and engineering
, and had a high regard for learning, while others state that he was a merchant. In particular, Otto Tiegs described himself as a merchant, under oath, in 1920.
Oscar Tiegs was born at kangaroo Point
in Brisbane
, Queensland
, Australia
and had two sisters, Olga Pauline and Edna.
As a child Oscar Tiegs was fascinated by insects and put together a collection of about one thousand named beetles which was eventually taken in by the Queensland Museum
. He described himself as a timid but industrious boy with an absorbing interest in insects, and acknowledged the support of the Queensland Government entomologist, Henry Tyson.
Oscar Tiegs attended the Brisbane State School until the age of 14, and attended the Brisbane Grammar School
from 1911 to 1915. He was awarded a scholarship
to attend university
.
he studied science, specialising in biology under Thomas Harvey Johnston, where he received training in animal morphology.
During his honours course, Oscar Tiegs produced his first research paper, an anatomical study of the echiuroid worm (pseudobonelia).
Oscar Tiegs was awarded his Bachelor of Science
degree from the University of Queensland
in , and Master of Science
degree from the University of Queensland in , at the age of 25. He wanted to study medicine but there was no medical school in Queensland so instead continued into zoology
.
In Oscar Tiegs was the beneficiary of a Walter and Eliza Hall in econonmic biology.
He worked with scientists researching the control of the blowfly and prickly pear
in Queensland
, Australia
, and was involved in the campaign to eradicate hookworm
.
On 14 August 1926, Oscar Tiegs married Ethel Mary Hamilton, a telephonist, at the Presbyterian Church, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Victoria
.
Oscar Tiegs was known to form lasting friendships, even from relatively brief associations, for example while on a trip to Europe in 1928, with colleagues there only having met him then and once later in 1954, having fond memories of him. He was known as Sandy Tiegs to his friends and colleagues.
He was godfather
to the son David of his mentor and colleague, Professor Thorburn Brailsford Robertson
.
Oscar Tiegs was always interested in learning and research, and was known to find administration and committee work distasteful. This would appear to be at odds with his being a Councillor, and Chair of the Library Committee, for the The Royal Society of Victoria
.
As head of the Melbourne University's Department of Zoology, he encouraged research and empowered his staff to set their own courses of activity with a directed freedom that nurtured world class research. He tended not to be interested in the research of others unless it was closely aligned with his own, yet was proud of his staff and was keen to show visitors what his staff were doing.
He lectured without notes, mainly to first year students, to whom he gave a solid background in elementary zoology and comparative morphology
, in a manner which was considered a model of presentation and clarity. He gave special lectures on arthropod
evolution
and the vertebrate nervous system to senior students. However, Oscar Tiegs' involvement in imparting knowledge started much earlier than his time at the University of Melbourne, he being a in biology
at the University of Queensland
in 1918.
In 1954 Oscar Tiegs was one of 23 Foundation Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science
, and along with the other 22 foundation fellows was a petitioner to Queen Elizabeth the Second for the Academy's charter. He, Sydney Sunderland, and Thomas MacFarland Cherry
, two other petioners and foundation members were responsible for drafting the by-laws
of the newly formed Academy
The Melbourne University's zoological museum, now called the Tiegs Museum, owes much of the quality of its collection to Oscar Tiegs. He spent time and care improving and extending its holdings, based on his belief in the traditional morphological approach to zoology.
Oscar Tiegs was a prodigious worker, and, for example, would take on extra lecturing duties during staff absences to not load his other staff, and only in later years did he balance his time more out of work. He was fond of music, in particular Beethoven and Mozart, and critically appreciated pictures. These interests, of music, art, and literature he shared with his wife Ethel.
Some felt Oscar Tiegs, while honest, was direct to the point of bluntness, and had a keen sense of humour. He was known for supportive letters sent to friends during World War II
, and the gift parcels sent by him and his wife. Oscar Tiegs' geographical isolation, and his own diffidence probably prevented him from maximising his contribution to zoology, although rather than diffidence others describe it as an unassuming disposition. He is described as shy and reserved, preferring the laboratory to the committee meeting or social function.
He suffered from aortic stenosis, and died of a coronary occlusion
in his home in Hawthorn, aged 59.
Typically, even his first research paper, was to describe something unusually interesting, namely that the male of the echiuroid worm exhibits a greater degree of degeneration than other species, the tissues fusing with those of its female partner and the host.
He briefly made some helminthological
investigations, for example with hookworm
, before moving to the newly created Department of Zoology at the University of Adelaide
in 1922.
At Adelaide, because of the absence of Professor Johnston, he was appointed , as acting head of the department he organised the new department and its teaching. Here he was influenced by Wood Jones, Professor of Anatomy
, and the physiologist Professor Brailsford Robertson
, one of the pupils of Jacques Loeb
. Oscar Tiegs spent three years at Adelaide, during which time he was granted a Bachelor of Science
degree in and obtained his Doctorate of Science degree in both from the University of Adelaide
, at the age of 25, his thesis being on the histology of metamorphosis of a chalcid wasp
(nasonia
), specifically nasonia brevicornis.
Oscar Tiegs' doctoral thesis work was to be the basis for much of his later work, in embryological studies, and the study of fine structures in muscle. He found clear evidence that the apparent striation of muscle fibres did not arise from separate disks, but from a helicoidal organisation within the fibre. He also found a similar condition in vertebrate
muscles. Later he discovered that former histologists had recorded the same thing, but their observations had received little attention. He contended that helicoidal striation is a general feature of muscles and that muscular conduction takes place along this helicoidal path, even though the evidence for this generality was against him, yet his cinematographic records supported his interpretation for arachnids and other arthropods.
Between 1922 and 1934 Oscar Tiegs was almost entirely concerned with the physiology of nerve and muscle, apparently influenced by Brailsford Robertson
.
In 1925 he published the results of experiments regarding the importance of creatine
. This line of research was inspired by the lactic acid
hypotheses of muscular action at the time and before phosphagen
was discovered.
.
In 1928 he obtained a Rockefeller Travelling Fellowship to visit Europe
, where he worked for a while in the Anatomical School at Cambridge University, England
, then headed by Professor Wilson, and in the Anatomical School at Utrecht University
, the Netherlands
, then headed by Professor Boecke.
Also in 1928, Oscar Tiegs was awarded the David Syme Research Prize
.
As a histologist Oscar Tiegs developed an interest in Boecke's suggestion of a double innervation of vertebrate
skeletal muscle
. From this interest he undertook a physiological investigation of the sympathetic system in the muscle, finding no such action except in blood vessels, all muscular action seemingly being caused by an adrenalin-like substance.
Oscar Tiegs in this work corrected errors and ambiguities in the work of others, and showed the validity of some traditional interpretations.
to test William McDougall
's supposed demonstration of Lamarckian inheritance of training in rats were negative and showed the inadequacy of McDougall's controls, the first results being published in 1935.
degree from the University of Melbourne
, and according to the Royal Society
became Associate Professor of Zoology at Melbourne University, whereas according to the Australian Academy of Science
and others this appointment occurred in , in particular the University of Melbourne
, for , and his interests returned to insect metamorphosis
. He followed the development of three species, the beetle
calandra, the symphylan hansenialla, and pauropus. He found the concept of rejuvenation to be invalid. He showed the impossibility of reconciling midgut
development with a normal gastriculation process. Building on this work he undertook a four year investigation of the embryology of the symphylan hanseniella agailis, followed by a three study of the embryology of pauropus silvaticus. He showed contrary to expectation that the progoneate genital ducts did not arise as is usual from coelomoducts in the embryo, but secondarily as epidermal ingrowths late in larval life, the progoneate form was merely a secondary adaptation to the anamorphic mode of growth of some myriapods by which new segments become added to the posterior end of the growing larva.
Oscar Tiegs thus showed that the characteristic of being opisthogoneate, that is with posterior genital openings, and the characteristic of progoneate, that is with the genital opening differently placed, anteriorly, are not dichotomous, and thus reduced the significance of the until then corresponding major classificatory zoological division. He proposed a new classification scheme based on head structure, this being supported by later work by others regarding antennal muscles, and locomotive behaviour and machinery in the relevant animals.
At the time of his death in 1956, Oscar Tiegs left a full draft of a review on the evolution of arthropoda. Its final preparation and publication was undertaken by friends and colleagues. Oscar Tiegs typically also known for this work.
elected Oscar Tiegs as a fellow in for:
He was appointed to a Chair of Zoology at the University of Melbourne in which he held until his death, and became a full Professor in 1948.
Oscar Tiegs served as Dean
of the Faculty
of Science the University of Melbourne
from 1950 to 1952.
In 1951 Professor Wilfred Agar died and Oscar Tiegs became Professor and took over as head of the Melbourne University Zoological Department.
Others state that Oscar Tiegs took the Chair of Zoology at the University of Melbourne in 1948 upon the retirement of Professor Wilfred Agar.
In 1954 he took sabbatical leave and travelled overseas a second time supported by a British Council
travel grant. This second trip provided Oscar Tiegs with the opportunity to be formally admitted to the Royal Society, after being elected as a Fellow 10 years earlier. While in England he also chaired a . He also delievered a seris of three lectures on the flight muscles of insects at the University of London
during March 1954
Oscar Tiegs returned to his area of doctoral studies for what was to be his last research, an exhaustive study of the flight muscles of insects and other arthropod
muscles published in 1955. This analysis of the comparative myology
and evolution
of wide range of insect
's flight muscles showed how such muscles evolved structurally at a histological level. He showed that the histogenesis
of muscle in orthoptera
(butterflies, moths, etc.) and simpler insects by the repeated division of rudimentary muscle fibres, but in higher orders of insect, free individual myoblast
s applicate to young muscle fibres laying down a new fibril
, contributing sarcoplasm
and nuclei
.
In 1956 Oscar Tiegs was awarded the Clarke Medal
by the Royal Society of New South Wales
, although the Australian Academy of Science has him listed, incorrectly, as receiving this award in 1928.
, the national capital of Australia
, names its streets after nationally significant people, places, and events. Tiegs Place, a street in the suburb of Florey
in Canberra, is named after Oscar Tiegs, notably for:
Oscar Tiegs was born on 12 March 1897, and died on 5 November 1956.
His contribution to the division of the phylum
Phylum
In biology, a phylum The term was coined by Georges Cuvier from Greek φῦλον phylon, "race, stock," related to φυλή phyle, "tribe, clan." is a taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. "Phylum" is equivalent to the botanical term division....
arthropoda into two parts, one including insecta, myriapoda
Myriapoda
Myriapoda is a subphylum of arthropods containing millipedes, centipedes, and others. The group contains 13,000 species, all of which are terrestrial...
, and peripatus
Peripatus
Peripatus is a genus of Onychophora . It is an invertebrate which gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs. It is said to be a living fossil because it has been unchanged for approximately...
, and the other including trilobites, crustacea, and arachnids, is considered to be an important contribution to zoology
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...
. He was acknowledged as having a remarkable ability for apt and beautiful drawings, and as being an excellent microscopist, as having a great capacity for meticulous accuracy, persistent work, and shrewd illicitation of relationships from massive detail. He is considered one of Australia's great zoologists and as having a permanent place in the history of zoology
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...
.
He was a Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
(University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
), a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, and a founding Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
Australian Academy of Science
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
.
Early life and education
Oscar Tiegs' father, Otto Theodor Carl Tiegs, Prussian born, and mother Helene Caroline Ottilie, née Meyer, from HanoverHanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, migrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from Germany
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...
. The Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
states that Otto Tiegs had careers in both pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, and had a high regard for learning, while others state that he was a merchant. In particular, Otto Tiegs described himself as a merchant, under oath, in 1920.
Oscar Tiegs was born at kangaroo Point
Kangaroo Point
Kangaroo Point can be either:* Kangaroo Point, New South Wales - a suburb in Sutherland Shire, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia* Kangaroo Point, Hornsby, New South Wales - a suburb in Hornsby Shire, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and had two sisters, Olga Pauline and Edna.
As a child Oscar Tiegs was fascinated by insects and put together a collection of about one thousand named beetles which was eventually taken in by the Queensland Museum
Queensland Museum
The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland. The museum currently operates four separate campuses; at South Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba and Townsville.The museum is funded by the State Government of Queensland.-History:...
. He described himself as a timid but industrious boy with an absorbing interest in insects, and acknowledged the support of the Queensland Government entomologist, Henry Tyson.
Oscar Tiegs attended the Brisbane State School until the age of 14, and attended the Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
from 1911 to 1915. He was awarded a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to attend university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
.
University of Queensland
At the University of QueenslandUniversity of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
he studied science, specialising in biology under Thomas Harvey Johnston, where he received training in animal morphology.
During his honours course, Oscar Tiegs produced his first research paper, an anatomical study of the echiuroid worm (pseudobonelia).
Oscar Tiegs was awarded his Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree from the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
in , and Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degree from the University of Queensland in , at the age of 25. He wanted to study medicine but there was no medical school in Queensland so instead continued into zoology
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...
.
In Oscar Tiegs was the beneficiary of a Walter and Eliza Hall in econonmic biology.
He worked with scientists researching the control of the blowfly and prickly pear
Opuntia
Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and was involved in the campaign to eradicate hookworm
Hookworm
The hookworm is a parasitic nematode that lives in the small intestine of its host, which may be a mammal such as a dog, cat, or human. Two species of hookworms commonly infect humans, Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. A. duodenale predominates in the Middle East, North Africa, India...
.
Adult life
Hawthorn, Victoria
Hawthorn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara...
.
Oscar Tiegs was known to form lasting friendships, even from relatively brief associations, for example while on a trip to Europe in 1928, with colleagues there only having met him then and once later in 1954, having fond memories of him. He was known as Sandy Tiegs to his friends and colleagues.
He was godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
to the son David of his mentor and colleague, Professor Thorburn Brailsford Robertson
Thorburn Robertson
Thorburn Brailsford Robertson was an Australian physiologist and biochemist.-Early life:Robertson was born in Edinburgh, the son of Thorburn Robertson and Sheila, daughter of William Brailsford. At eight years of age he was brought to South Australia, where his father had been appointed a mining...
.
Oscar Tiegs was always interested in learning and research, and was known to find administration and committee work distasteful. This would appear to be at odds with his being a Councillor, and Chair of the Library Committee, for the The Royal Society of Victoria
Royal Society of Victoria
The Royal Society of Victoria is the oldest learned society in the state of Victoria in Australia.The Royal Society of Victoria was formed in 1859 from a merger between The Philosophical Society of Victoria and The Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science , both founded...
.
As head of the Melbourne University's Department of Zoology, he encouraged research and empowered his staff to set their own courses of activity with a directed freedom that nurtured world class research. He tended not to be interested in the research of others unless it was closely aligned with his own, yet was proud of his staff and was keen to show visitors what his staff were doing.
He lectured without notes, mainly to first year students, to whom he gave a solid background in elementary zoology and comparative morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
, in a manner which was considered a model of presentation and clarity. He gave special lectures on arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
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 the vertebrate nervous system to senior students. However, Oscar Tiegs' involvement in imparting knowledge started much earlier than his time at the University of Melbourne, he being a in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
at the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
in 1918.
Australian Academy of Science
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
, and along with the other 22 foundation fellows was a petitioner to Queen Elizabeth the Second for the Academy's charter. He, Sydney Sunderland, and Thomas MacFarland Cherry
Thomas MacFarland Cherry
Sir Thomas MacFarland Cherry Sc.D., F.A.A., F.R.S. was a noted Australian mathematician, serving as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Melbourne from 1929 until his retirement in 1963...
, two other petioners and foundation members were responsible for drafting the by-laws
Bylaw
By-law can refer to a law of local or limited application passed under the authority of a higher law specifying what things may be regulated by the by-law...
of the newly formed Academy
The Melbourne University's zoological museum, now called the Tiegs Museum, owes much of the quality of its collection to Oscar Tiegs. He spent time and care improving and extending its holdings, based on his belief in the traditional morphological approach to zoology.
Oscar Tiegs was a prodigious worker, and, for example, would take on extra lecturing duties during staff absences to not load his other staff, and only in later years did he balance his time more out of work. He was fond of music, in particular Beethoven and Mozart, and critically appreciated pictures. These interests, of music, art, and literature he shared with his wife Ethel.
Some felt Oscar Tiegs, while honest, was direct to the point of bluntness, and had a keen sense of humour. He was known for supportive letters sent to friends during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the gift parcels sent by him and his wife. Oscar Tiegs' geographical isolation, and his own diffidence probably prevented him from maximising his contribution to zoology, although rather than diffidence others describe it as an unassuming disposition. He is described as shy and reserved, preferring the laboratory to the committee meeting or social function.
He suffered from aortic stenosis, and died of a coronary occlusion
Coronary occlusion
A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack.In some patients coronary occlusion causes only mild pain, tightness or vague discomfort which may be ignored: the myocardium is however damaged....
in his home in Hawthorn, aged 59.
Career
Ocsar Tiegs' scientific interests and contributions ranged from the physiological analysis of nervous and muscular action to invertebrate embryology, his studies being comparable to the very best work the last century. He repeatedly turned from one area of research to another, only to return again. He was a dedicated practiser of desciptive morphology during a period when the majority of biologists were turning to experimentation.Typically, even his first research paper, was to describe something unusually interesting, namely that the male of the echiuroid worm exhibits a greater degree of degeneration than other species, the tissues fusing with those of its female partner and the host.
He briefly made some helminthological
Helminthology
Helminthology is the study of worms, especially parasitic worms. This field deals with the study of their taxonomy and the effect on their hosts....
investigations, for example with hookworm
Hookworm
The hookworm is a parasitic nematode that lives in the small intestine of its host, which may be a mammal such as a dog, cat, or human. Two species of hookworms commonly infect humans, Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. A. duodenale predominates in the Middle East, North Africa, India...
, before moving to the newly created Department of Zoology at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
in 1922.
University of Adelaide
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
, and the physiologist Professor Brailsford Robertson
Thorburn Robertson
Thorburn Brailsford Robertson was an Australian physiologist and biochemist.-Early life:Robertson was born in Edinburgh, the son of Thorburn Robertson and Sheila, daughter of William Brailsford. At eight years of age he was brought to South Australia, where his father had been appointed a mining...
, one of the pupils of Jacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb was a German-born American physiologist and biologist.-Biography:...
. Oscar Tiegs spent three years at Adelaide, during which time he was granted a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in and obtained his Doctorate of Science degree in both from the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, at the age of 25, his thesis being on the histology of metamorphosis of a chalcid wasp
Chalcid wasp
Chalcid wasps belong to the insect order Hymenoptera, and are one of the largest groups within the order, with some 22,000 known species, and an estimated total diversity of anywhere from 60,000 to more than 500,000 species, meaning the vast majority have yet to be discovered and described.Most of...
(nasonia
Nasonia
Nasonia are a genus of small pteromalid parasitoid wasps that sting and lay eggs in the pupae of various flies. The fly species that Nasonia usually parasitize are primarily blowflies and fleshflies, making Nasonia a useful tool for biocontrol of these pest flies...
), specifically nasonia brevicornis.
Oscar Tiegs' doctoral thesis work was to be the basis for much of his later work, in embryological studies, and the study of fine structures in muscle. He found clear evidence that the apparent striation of muscle fibres did not arise from separate disks, but from a helicoidal organisation within the fibre. He also found a similar condition in vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
muscles. Later he discovered that former histologists had recorded the same thing, but their observations had received little attention. He contended that helicoidal striation is a general feature of muscles and that muscular conduction takes place along this helicoidal path, even though the evidence for this generality was against him, yet his cinematographic records supported his interpretation for arachnids and other arthropods.
Between 1922 and 1934 Oscar Tiegs was almost entirely concerned with the physiology of nerve and muscle, apparently influenced by Brailsford Robertson
Thorburn Robertson
Thorburn Brailsford Robertson was an Australian physiologist and biochemist.-Early life:Robertson was born in Edinburgh, the son of Thorburn Robertson and Sheila, daughter of William Brailsford. At eight years of age he was brought to South Australia, where his father had been appointed a mining...
.
In 1925 he published the results of experiments regarding the importance of creatine
Creatine
Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to all cells in the body, primarily muscle. This is achieved by increasing the formation of Adenosine triphosphate...
. This line of research was inspired by the lactic acid
Lactic acid
Lactic acid, also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in various biochemical processes and was first isolated in 1780 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Lactic acid is a carboxylic acid with the chemical formula C3H6O3...
hypotheses of muscular action at the time and before phosphagen
Phosphagen
The phosphagens are energy storage compounds, also known as high-energy phosphate compounds, are chiefly found in muscular tissue in animals. They allow a high-energy phosphate pool to be maintained in a concentration range, which, if it all were ATP, would create problems due to the ATP consuming...
was discovered.
University of Melbourne
During 1925 Oscar Tiegs moved to Melbourne University's department of Zoology as a senior lecturer, then headed by Professor Wilfred Eade AgarWilfred Eade Agar
Wilfred Eade Agar was an Anglo-Australian zoologist.Agar was born in Wimbledon, England. He was educated at Sedbergh School, Yorkshire, and at King's College, Cambridge, where he read zoology...
.
In 1928 he obtained a Rockefeller Travelling Fellowship to visit Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, where he worked for a while in the Anatomical School at Cambridge University, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, then headed by Professor Wilson, and in the Anatomical School at Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, then headed by Professor Boecke.
Also in 1928, Oscar Tiegs was awarded the David Syme Research Prize
David Syme Research Prize
The David Syme Research Prize is an annual award administered by the University of Melbourne for the best original research work in biology, physics, chemistry or geology, produced in Australia during the preceding two years, particular preference is given to original research to enhance industrial...
.
As a histologist Oscar Tiegs developed an interest in Boecke's suggestion of a double innervation of vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
skeletal muscle
Skeletal muscle
Skeletal muscle is a form of striated muscle tissue existing under control of the somatic nervous system- i.e. it is voluntarily controlled. It is one of three major muscle types, the others being cardiac and smooth muscle...
. From this interest he undertook a physiological investigation of the sympathetic system in the muscle, finding no such action except in blood vessels, all muscular action seemingly being caused by an adrenalin-like substance.
Oscar Tiegs in this work corrected errors and ambiguities in the work of others, and showed the validity of some traditional interpretations.
Lamarckian inheritance
Similarly, his experiments with Wilfred Eade AgarWilfred Eade Agar
Wilfred Eade Agar was an Anglo-Australian zoologist.Agar was born in Wimbledon, England. He was educated at Sedbergh School, Yorkshire, and at King's College, Cambridge, where he read zoology...
to test William McDougall
William McDougall (psychologist)
William McDougall FRS was an early twentieth century psychologist who spent the first part of his career in the United Kingdom and the latter part in the United States...
's supposed demonstration of Lamarckian inheritance of training in rats were negative and showed the inadequacy of McDougall's controls, the first results being published in 1935.
Phylogenetics of arthropoda
In Oscar Tiegs was granted a Master of ScienceMaster of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degree from the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, and according to the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
became Associate Professor of Zoology at Melbourne University, whereas according to the Australian Academy of Science
Australian Academy of Science
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
and others this appointment occurred in , in particular the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, for , and his interests returned to insect metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
. He followed the development of three species, the beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
calandra, the symphylan hansenialla, and pauropus. He found the concept of rejuvenation to be invalid. He showed the impossibility of reconciling midgut
Midgut
The midgut is the portion of the embryo from which most of the intestines develop. After it bends around the superior mesenteric artery, it is called the "midgut loop"...
development with a normal gastriculation process. Building on this work he undertook a four year investigation of the embryology of the symphylan hanseniella agailis, followed by a three study of the embryology of pauropus silvaticus. He showed contrary to expectation that the progoneate genital ducts did not arise as is usual from coelomoducts in the embryo, but secondarily as epidermal ingrowths late in larval life, the progoneate form was merely a secondary adaptation to the anamorphic mode of growth of some myriapods by which new segments become added to the posterior end of the growing larva.
Oscar Tiegs thus showed that the characteristic of being opisthogoneate, that is with posterior genital openings, and the characteristic of progoneate, that is with the genital opening differently placed, anteriorly, are not dichotomous, and thus reduced the significance of the until then corresponding major classificatory zoological division. He proposed a new classification scheme based on head structure, this being supported by later work by others regarding antennal muscles, and locomotive behaviour and machinery in the relevant animals.
At the time of his death in 1956, Oscar Tiegs left a full draft of a review on the evolution of arthropoda. Its final preparation and publication was undertaken by friends and colleagues. Oscar Tiegs typically also known for this work.
Further major work and recognition
The Royal SocietyRoyal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
elected Oscar Tiegs as a fellow in for:
- his work on insect embryology and metamorphosis, and the embyrology of SymphylaSymphylaSymphylans, also known as garden centipedes or glasshouse symphylans, are soil-dwelling arthropods of the class Symphyla in the subphylum Myriapoda. Symphylans resemble centipedes, but are smaller and translucent. They can move rapidly through the pores between soil particles, and are typically...
; - his experimental studies on the innervation of skeletal muscle and the functional relation of the sympathetic system to muscle (Orbeli effect);
- his histological work on muscle, especially the helicoidal structure of the striated muscle fibre;
- and other research concerning: histology of the neurosynapse; innervation of teeth; chemical transmission at dorsal root nerve endings.
He was appointed to a Chair of Zoology at the University of Melbourne in which he held until his death, and became a full Professor in 1948.
Oscar Tiegs served as Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Faculty
Faculty (university)
A faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
of Science the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
from 1950 to 1952.
In 1951 Professor Wilfred Agar died and Oscar Tiegs became Professor and took over as head of the Melbourne University Zoological Department.
Others state that Oscar Tiegs took the Chair of Zoology at the University of Melbourne in 1948 upon the retirement of Professor Wilfred Agar.
In 1954 he took sabbatical leave and travelled overseas a second time supported by a British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
travel grant. This second trip provided Oscar Tiegs with the opportunity to be formally admitted to the Royal Society, after being elected as a Fellow 10 years earlier. While in England he also chaired a . He also delievered a seris of three lectures on the flight muscles of insects at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
during March 1954
Oscar Tiegs returned to his area of doctoral studies for what was to be his last research, an exhaustive study of the flight muscles of insects and other arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
muscles published in 1955. This analysis of the comparative myology
Myology
The muscular system consists of skeletal muscle that act to move or position parts of the body , or smooth and cardiac muscle that propels, expels, or controls the flow of fluids and contained substance.The British Myology Society is an example of a professional group promoting myology ...
and 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...
of wide range of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
's flight muscles showed how such muscles evolved structurally at a histological level. He showed that the histogenesis
Histogenesis
Histogenesis is the formation of different tissues from undifferentiated cells. These cells are constituents of three primary germ layers, the endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm...
of muscle in orthoptera
Orthoptera
Orthoptera is an order of insects with paurometabolous or incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets and locusts.Many insects in this order produce sound by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps...
(butterflies, moths, etc.) and simpler insects by the repeated division of rudimentary muscle fibres, but in higher orders of insect, free individual myoblast
Myoblast
A myoblast is a type of embryonic progenitor cell that gives rise to muscle cells .The muscle cells can be skeletal muscle, smooth muscle, and cardiac muscle....
s applicate to young muscle fibres laying down a new fibril
Fibril
Fibril is a fine fiber approximately 1 nm in diameter.Cytoplasmic fibrils are observed on the protoplasmic cylinders found in most spirochetal species, although no function of the cytoplasmic fibrils has been ascribed....
, contributing sarcoplasm
Sarcoplasm
The Sarcoplasm of a muscle fiber is comparable to the cytoplasm of other cells, but it houses unusually large amounts of glycosomes and significant amounts of myoglobin, an oxygen binding protein...
and nuclei
Cell nucleus
In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these...
.
In 1956 Oscar Tiegs was awarded the Clarke Medal
Clarke Medal
The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.Named in honour of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society...
by the Royal Society of New South Wales
Royal Society of New South Wales
The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. It was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1821...
, although the Australian Academy of Science has him listed, incorrectly, as receiving this award in 1928.
Tiegs Museum
The University of Melbourne's zoological museum, established in 1887, is now named The Tiegs Museum after Oscar Tiegs. Oscar Tiegs was responsible for substantially improving the museum's collection, which was housed in its own room in the old Zoology Building. The room was called "The Tiegs Museum" and this title was now been officially adopted, and followed the museum to its new location in the Zoology Department's new premises in 1988.Tiegs Place
CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, the national capital of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, names its streets after nationally significant people, places, and events. Tiegs Place, a street in the suburb of Florey
Florey, Australian Capital Territory
Florey is a residential suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, in the district of Belconnen. It was gazetted on 5 August 1975 and most houses were constructed in the mid 1980s. A minor industrial area was located in the suburb prior to residential development.The streets of...
in Canberra, is named after Oscar Tiegs, notably for: