Carl August Dohrn

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Carl August Dohrn

Carl August Dohrn (born June 27, 1806 in Stettin ; † May 10, 1892 ibid) was a German entrepreneur , entomologist and politician .

Life

Dohrn was the son of the businessman and co-founder of the Pomeranian provincial sugar boiler Heinrich Dohrn and his wife Johanna Hüttern. In 1821, at the age of 15, Dohrn began to study law at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin . He broke off this degree and completed a commercial apprenticeship with his father's business friends. After successfully completing his apprenticeship, he embarked on a journey of almost six years from 1831, which took him through Europe, North Africa and South America. During this time he also did longer internships with sugar producers in Algeria and Brazil . In 1837 Dohrn returned to Germany and settled in his hometown of Stettin. In the same year he married Adelheid Dietrich in Berlin , with whom he had a daughter and three sons Heinrich Dohrn , Wilhelm Dohrn (* 1839) and Anton Dohrn .

During the first years at home, Dohrn worked on various translations and during this time he published his arrangements of Spanish dramas (4 volumes) and a collection of Swedish folk songs (3 volumes). In addition, he expanded his beetle collection, the basis of which he had laid on his world tour. In 1837/38 Dohrn founded the Entomological Association in Stettin in his hometown , the first and for many years the only one of its kind in Germany. From 1843 Dohrn was president of the Entomological Society; so he also acted from 1843 to 1887 as editor of the Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung . He was also instrumental in the publication of the association's second journal, Linnaea entomologica , which appeared in 16 volumes from 1846 to 1866 .

When his father Heinrich died in 1852, Dohrn took over the management of the Pomeranian Provincial Sugar Brewery , which he held until 1872. Dohrn also continued to attend the regular house music evenings set up by his father, to which musician friends were invited. The composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was also present several times; he became the godfather of Dohrn's son Anton.

Dohrn's private book collection grew over the years into a very important entomological specialist library, and his beetle collection, with 40,000 species, was one of the most important in Europe. Both were donated to the museum in Stettin while Dohrn was still alive, but where they were almost completely destroyed during the Second World War .

From 1859 to 1861 Dohrn represented his hometown Stettin in the Prussian House of Representatives .

Dohrn resigned almost all of his offices in 1872 and retired into private life. He died 20 years later at the age of almost 86.

His daughter Anna (1831-1892) married the philologist Gustav Wendt (1827-1912). Their grandson was the conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler .

Honors

literature

personal data
SURNAME Dohrn, Carl August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur, entomologist and politician, MdHdA
DATE OF BIRTH June 27, 1806
PLACE OF BIRTH Szczecin
DATE OF DEATH May 10, 1892
Place of death Szczecin