Aleksander Zawadzki (naturalist)

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 (Polish: Lwów). 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 University.

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.

Published Work

• Zawadzki, A. (1835). Enumeratio plantarum Galiciae et Bucovinae. Oder die in Galizien und der Bukowina wildwachsenden Pflanzen mit genauer Angabe ihrer Standorte (in Latin). Breslau: Korn. OCLC 56868672. 
• Zawadzki, A. (1840). Fauna der galizisch-bukowinischen Wirbelthiere. Eine systematische Uebersicht der in diesen Provinzen mit vorkommenden Säugethiere, Vögel, Amphibien und Fische, mit Rücksicht auf ihre Lebensweise und Verbreitung. D. Fische. Pisces (in German). Stuttgart: E. Schweizerbart Verlagshardlung. OCLC 61636191. 

Further reading

• "Zawadzki Aleksander (1798–1868). Badacz Karpat i Galicji" (PDF) (in Polish). 

References

• "Zawadzki Aleksander". Internetowa encyklopedia PWN (in Polish). Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
• "Zawadzki Aleksander". WIEM Encyklopedia (in Polish). Retrieved 2007-11-28. 

Notes