Karl Wilhelm Augustin

Karl Wilhelm Augustin (born February 23, 1845 in Segeberg , † April 7, 1932 in Hamburg ) was a German high school teacher and entomologist .

Life

Teacher

Karl Wilhelm Augustin was a son of Caspar Hinrich Augustin (born May 19, 1817 in Böbs ; † September 18, 1881 in Högsdorf ) and his wife Amalie Dorothea Henriette, née Westphal. The father, who had been teaching in Högsdorf since 1850, prepared birds and mammals in addition to teaching. He also collected more than 4000 different species of beetles. At the time, it was one of the most important zoological collections in Schleswig-Holstein. He also wrote the "Guide for budding beetle collectors", which was published in the Christian Vetter educational institution, formerly Ludwig Hestermann in Hamburg.

Augustin attended grammar school in Eutin from 1859 to 1866 and then studied classical philology and history at the University of Kiel . Before the end of his studies he was drafted into the Franco-German War as a deputy sergeant . He fought in the Battle of Gravelotte , the Siege of Metz , the Battle of Orléans and the Battle of Le Mans . He suffered injuries when storming a French gun emplacement near Le Mans. In 1899 he was given the title of lieutenant in the reserve .

In 1872 Augustin finished his studies with the doctorate to Dr. phil. (Dissertation “De participii apud Plautum et Terentium usu”) and then completed a one-year trial period at the secondary school in Neumünster . On December 31, 1872 he married Wilhelmine Catharina Charlotte (* July 1, 1841 in Kiel ; † in September 1919, presumably in Hamburg). The couple had a daughter and three sons.

At Easter 1874 Augustin took over the post of rector of the two-tier higher city school in Lünen and at Easter 1882 switched to the Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Hamburg. Here he taught natural history, geography, Latin and religion. Easter 1887 he was promoted to senior teacher. Because of financial problems with the upbringing of his children and recurring spa treatments due to his war injury, he represented Miss Nemitz and Ms. Fromm in the natural history classes at the school for senior daughters. In addition, there were sometimes private lessons and students who lived with him as a pension.

Augustine's students particularly praised his biology classes, which inspired them to make their own observations. The school management came to a less positive conclusion, which was primarily due to the fact that the rector did not give science subjects a high priority. Carl Albert Lange said in 1948 in his book “The Cabinet of Small Pleasures” that the pedagogue used very advanced teaching methods.

Augustine later wrote about his "War experiences of an eighty-five man", which after previous partial publications appeared in 1898 by Lipsius & Fischer . In it he presented the problems caused by the war of 1870/71 for many residents of Schleswig-Holstein. After the publisher had sent Augustin's pamphlets to all of the students, the pedagogue who had made the addresses available without doubt ran into problems. The headmaster of the school spoke of a lack of sense of "decency and sense of class" and applied for a transfer to a secondary school. However, the high school authorities did not comply with this request.

After a later change of rector, Augustin received better assessments. In 1903 he received the title of professor and retired in 1913 at his own request.

Entomologist

Augustine's main importance was in the field of coleopterology . Even during his time as school principal in Lünen, he wrote smaller articles on the subject. In 1885 he was one of the first researchers to study the acclimatization of overseas insects in Europe . In 1886 he completed his father's “guide” comprehensively and published a new edition of the book. He described 1125 species of beetles and often gave detailed information on their localities in Ostholstein , Segeberg, Lauenburg , Meldorf , Flensburg , Hamburg, Lübeck , Itzehoe or Neumünster .

In later years Augustin wrote interesting articles in popular science that appeared, for example, in the Hamburger Fremdblatt , the Hamburgischer Correspondenten or the Hamburger Nachrichten and made a significant contribution to the dissemination of biological knowledge.

Publications (selection)

• For acclimatization of overseas insects in Europe . In: Festschrift for the inauguration of the Wilhelms-Gymnasium in Hamburg on May 21, 1885 . Hamburg 1885, pp. 31-39.
• Caspar Hinrich Augustin: Guide for beetle collectors. Instructions for the appropriate identification of beetles for teachers and learners . 2nd, increased edition enriched with 360 illustrations. Edited by Karl Wilh. Augustine. Meissner, Hamburg 1886.
• Determination boards . 2nd, increased edition. Hamburg 1897.
• War experiences of an eighty-five man. Dedicated to all comrades-in-arms, friends of the fatherland and especially the growing youth . Lipsius & Tischer, Kiel / Leipzig 1898. 2nd edition 1905.

literature

• Carl Albert Lange : The Cabinet of Small Pleasures . Hamburger 1948, pp. 48-54.
• Herbert Weidner : History of Entomology in Hamburg . Hamburg 1967, pp. 174-178.
• Herbert Weidner: Augustin, Karl Wilhelm . in: Schleswig-Holstein Biographical Lexicon . Volume 4. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1976, pp. 13-14.
• Franz Kössler: Personal dictionary of teachers of the 19th century. Professional biographies from school annual reports and school programs 1825-1918 with lists of publications . Band: Abbehusen-ax . Giessen University Library 2008 ( digitized version ).