Wolfgang Bücherl

Wolfgang Bücherl (born April 27, 1911 in Furth im Wald ; † January 14, 1985 in São Paulo ) was a German-Brazilian university professor of biology and a well-known arachnologist .

At the age of 18 he emigrated to Brazil , where he studied at the philosophical faculty of the Pontifical Catholic University in São Paulo (1930 to 1932). But since he was more interested in biology, he took biology and natural sciences at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster . His doctoral thesis was called “On the question of the phylogenetic origin of the thoracic muscles of Lithobius fortificatus. A contribution to the study of arthropods ”.

After graduation, he went back to Brazil in 1938, where he was initially full professor of biology at the Catholic University in São Paulo (1939/1940). At the same time he worked at the Butantane Institute (São Paulo), where he then became division director. His more than 35 years of work at the institute made him world famous. He published many studies on poisonous arachnids and scorpions as books, monographs and also larger reference works on "poisonous animals and animal poisons".

His best-known book is "Das Haus der Gifte - The story of the Butantan Institute São Paulo", published by the Kosmos-Gesellschaft der Naturfreunde in the Franckh'schen Verlagshandlung in Stuttgart in 1963.

After his retirement he was managing director of the Hans-Staden-Institut for several years.

Buchl was married and had a daughter.

Awards

• Gold medal of the "Prêmio Mello-Leitão" of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences
• Vital Brasil Medal of the Butantan Institute on the occasion of the 100th birthday of this scientist
• Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his scientific achievements

Web links

• Literature by and about Wolfgang Bücherl in the bibliographic database WorldCat