Heinrich von Kittlitz

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Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Freiherr von Kittlitz (born February 16, 1799 in Breslau , † April 10, 1874 in Mainz ) was a Prussian - Silesian , German ornithologist , naturalist, traveler and draftsman.

Life

Night heron and red-backed heron (drawing by Kittlitz)

He came from the family of the barons von Kittlitz and Ottendorf, who belong to the Upper Lusatian nobility . His parents were the Prussian lieutenant colonel and heir to Welkersdorf Friedrich von Kittlitz (1769-1825) and his wife Henriette von Diebitsch (1771-1835). His maternal grandparents were the Russian major general Ehrenfried von Diebitsch (1738-1822) from the house of Groß Leipe and his wife Henriette Charlotte von Nagy . The Russian field marshal Hans Karl von Diebitsch-Sabalkanski was his uncle.

He took part in the Wars of Independence and entered Paris with his unit in 1815. He then served in the army and joined the Mainz garrison. There his enthusiasm for ornithology was further promoted. In 1825 he quit his service as captain and tried to take part in a Russian expedition through his mother's connections.

From 1826 to 1829 he accompanied the Lütke circumnavigation of the world on the Senjawin , which was commissioned by the Tsar of Russia . In 1828 he temporarily separated from the expedition in order to explore Kamchatka on his own .

On the research trip he discovered two species of birds on the Micronesian island of Kosrae , which he described and documented through bird hides: the Kosrae moorhen and the Kosrae singing star . Both birds were soon extinct, presumably due to introduced rats. Kittlitz is the only western ornithologist who has observed and described these bird species in the wild. From his trip he brought 754 hides from 314 bird species to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The ornithological results, but also his other observations on zoology , botany and geography of Alaska , Kamchatka, the Aleutians and the Carolines , were published in his report Memoirs of a trip to Russian America, Micronesia and through Kamchatka , which only appeared in 1858.

With his friend Eduard Rüppell , Kittlitz traveled to North Africa in 1831 , but had to break off the trip due to illness. On the way back he discovered the shepherd 's plover in Egypt (" Kittlitz's Sand Plover "). Several other birds he discovered also bear his name, such as the Kittlitzbrillenvogel and the Kurzschnabelalk (English " Kittlitz's Murrelet ").

From 1849 he lived in Mainz , where he died in 1874.

family

He married Julie Schulz (1812–1865) in Cologne in 1844 . She was the daughter of the court judge Ferd. Theodor Schulz from Dortmund and widow of the forester Karl Reichenbach. The couple had two sons and a daughter, Laura. She later married the professor of law Hugo Sachsse (1851-1927).

Publications

  • About some birds from chilli , 1831, digitized
  • Copper panels on the natural history of birds , 3 booklets of 12 pages each, Sauerländer, Frankfurt am Main 1832, 1st booklet
  • 24 vegetation views of the coastal countries and islands of the Pacific Ocean , with text, Wiesbaden 1845–1852, digitized
  • Vegetation views from the western Sudetes , Frankfurt 1854
  • Nature scenes from Kamchatka
  • Pictures of the Pacific
  • Memories of a trip to Russian America, Micronesia and Kamchatka , 1853
  • Psychological basis for a new philosophy of art , Berlin 1863
  • Conclusions from the human soul to the world soul , Mainz 1873
  • Ornithological diary. Handwriting with watercolor paintings. 4 volumes (1816–1823). Scientific City Library Mainz , Moyat Collection, Sign .: Moyat 658

literature

Web links

Commons : Heinrich von Kittlitz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Gothaische Genealogische Taschenbuch from 1940 indicates August as the month of death.

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personal data
SURNAME Kittlitz, Heinrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Friedrich Heinrich Freiherr von Kittlitz and Ottendorf (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ornithologist, naturalist, traveler, draftsman
DATE OF BIRTH February 16, 1799
PLACE OF BIRTH Wroclaw
DATE OF DEATH April 10, 1874
Place of death Mainz