Charles Albert Walter Guggisberg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Albert Walter Guggisberg (born February 27, 1913 in Bern , Switzerland ; † December 9, 1980 in Nairobi , Kenya ) was a Swiss zoologist, nature photographer and non-fiction author. His research focus was the wildlife of East Africa.

Live and act

Guggisberg was the adopted son of the teacher Karl Wilhelm Guggisberg and his wife Paula, nee Schaufelberger. After studying zoology and high school teacher exams, he enrolled at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London . Then Guggisberg tried to get a job in Africa. However, the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 forced him to stay in Bern and take a position as a secondary teacher. In 1946 he married the Belgian linguist and author Rosanne Leclere, with whom he moved to Tanzania and then to Kenya that same year. From 1947 he worked as an entomological field officer at the Medical Research Laboratory in Nairobi studies on insects and other arthropods that can transmit diseases. From 1956 he received a post as a mammal loge at the Medical Research Laboratory, which enabled him to work in the field in East Africa for 24 years. Guggisberg wrote several specialist books on the animal world of East Africa, including lions, rhinos and giraffes. He was also a successful nature and animal photographer whose photos have been published in numerous books and magazines. He died on December 9, 1980 after an operation.

Works (selection)

  • 1944: butterflies and moths
  • 1949: Our birds (2 volumes)
  • 1950: the beauty of the beetle
  • 1953: Among lions and elephants: experiences in the heart of Africa
  • 1954: A brief history of the earth
  • 1954: Animal life in the Alps (2 volumes)
  • 1955: The human races
  • 1955: Game Animals of East Africa
  • 1956: giant animals and dwarf people
  • 1958: exotic birds
  • 1958: Alpine primer
  • 1958: beetles and other insects
  • 1959: Animals in the field and forest
  • 1960: Simba: The Life Of A Lion (German: Simba - Eine Löwenmonographie)
  • 1963: The Wilderness Is Free: The Story Of Wild Life In Africa
  • 1965: The animal world of Switzerland
  • 1966: Abu Dynasty (with Ivan T. Sanderson )
  • 1966: SOS Rhino
  • 1969: Giraffes (German: Die Welt der Tiere - Giraffes, 1976)
  • 1970: Man and Wild Life
  • 1972: East Africa
  • 1972: Crocodiles: Their Natural History, Folklore And Conservation
  • 1975: Wild Cats of the World
  • 1977: The African Elephant
  • 1977: Early Wildlife Photographers
  • 1980: Birds of East Africa

literature

  • Walter Christen: CAW Guggisberg 1913–1980. In: The Ornithological Observer. Volumes 78-79 (1981), p. 219.
  • Frances C. Locher, Ann Evory: Contemporary Authors. Volumes 81-84. Gale Research Company, Detroit 1979, p. 215.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Daniel A. Guggisberg: Guggisberg Genealogies: genealogical descent registers of the different families Guggisberg Redondo Beach, Calif. 1999
personal data
SURNAME Guggisberg, Charles Albert Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guggisberg, CAW
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss zoologist, nature photographer and non-fiction author
DATE OF BIRTH February 27, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Bern
DATE OF DEATH December 9, 1980
Place of death Nairobi