Ottó Herman
| Ottó Herman | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | June 26, 1835 |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Fields | Ornithology, Arachnology |
Ottó Herman (26 June 1835 – 27 December 1914) was a Hungarian zoologist, ethnographer, archaeologist, and politician; a polymath recognized as a pioneer of Hungarian natural history research. He made numerous studies on Hungarian spiders, birds, and fishes, founded the journal Natural History Notebooks, which became one of the most popular scientific publications of Hungary, and the ornithological journal Aquila. He is called "the Father of the birds" in Hungary. He was a member of several learned societies including the Royal Hungarian Society of Natural History, Hungarian Linguistics Society, Hungarian Society of Ethnography and was elected to Hungarian Parliament. The Ottó Herman Museum of Miskolc bears his name.
His work in favor of science, politics and all these activities have a significant impact in Hungary.
Ottó Herman was born in Breznóbánya, Kingdom of Hungary (modern day Slovakia) into a Zipser Saxon family. He started his schools in Miskolc. He studied engineering in Vienna, however, due to family reasons he couldn't finish his studies. At age 14 he wanted to join the Hungarian revolutionaries of 1848 but was sent home because he couldn't provide a letter of his father's consent. Later, Herman spent years in military service in the Austrian Army as a punishment for trying deliberately to avoid conscription. He became a well-known journalist and a member of the Hungarian National Assembly. He frequently visited Lajos Kossuth in Torino, Italy.
Ottó Herman was an autodidact who immersed himself in a wide variety of zoological (ornithological, ichthyological), speleological, archaeological and ethnographic sources. He was the first person who stated that cavemen lived in Hungary in the past after examining the chopping tools found in the area surrounding Miskolc. His best known works are Spider Faunas of Hungary, Birds Useful and Birds Harmful and the Book of Hungarian Fishery. Herman was the father of Hungarian palaeolithic research and Hungarian speleology. He initiated the Natural History Notebooks and was its editor for 10 years until 1886. He also founded and edited the ornithological review Aquila until the end of his life. Herman established and directed the Hungarian Ornithological Centre, at the time a department of the Hungarian National Museum. He was one of the founding members of the Hungarian Society of Ethnography.
...
Wikipedia