Johannes Thienemann
Johannes Thienemann (born November 12, 1863 in Gangloffsömmern , Thuringia ; died April 12, 1938 in Rossitten , East Prussia ) was a German ornithologist and founder of the Rossitten ornithological station , the first ornithological station in the world.
Live and act
Johannes Thienemann was the son of Pastor August Wilhelm Thienemann and grandson of Pastor Georg August Wilhelm Thienemann , whose names were already well known in German ornithology. It was through the latter that Johannes became familiar with the world of birds. He attended high schools in Sondershausen and Zeitz. After graduating from high school there, he studied theology in Leipzig and Halle (Saale) from 1885, according to family tradition . After passing the second state examination in theology in Magdeburg in 1894, Thienemann began teaching, and in 1895 he became head of a higher private school in Osterwieck am Harz. In 1896 he got to know Rossitten on the Curonian Spit while on vacation . From 1899 Thienemann was a private tutor, most recently with the Hoffmann family, and lived in their holiday home. This is how he met his future wife, Hedwig Hoffmann. She was the daughter of the builder Adolf Hoffmann from Memel.
From then on, Thienemann devoted his research to bird migration , which led to results that are important for ornithology and that are still valid today. Among other things, he introduced the systematic ringing of migratory birds as a fundamental technique for researching the migratory behavior of migratory birds , following the approach of the Danish ornithologist Mortensen . The popular scientist, also popularly known as the "bird professor", built the world's first ornithological research station, the Rossitten ornithological station, in 1901 in Rossitten (East Prussia; today Rybatschi / Russia ) on the Curonian Spit with the support of Georg Rörig . This ornithological station, which is highly regarded by scientists, became world famous thanks to Thienemann's extensive publications and reports. From 1901 he also studied zoology in Königsberg (Prussia) and was awarded a Dr. phil. PhD. In 1910 Thienemann became an associate professor at the Albertus University in Königsberg . The ornithological station in Rossitten with the Ulmenhorst field station built in 1908 was transferred from the German Ornithological Society to the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science in 1923 . Thienemann remained loyal to Rossitten even after retiring in 1929 and died there in 1938 on his property. He didn't have to see the end of his life's work. The Rossitten ornithological station was evacuated and closed as a result of the Second World War in 1944.
In 1946 the Radolfzell ornithological station on Lake Constance became the successor to the Rossitten observatory. At the original location, Soviet researchers reopened the ornithological station, if it was still there, on a smaller scale.
After the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg, as the supporting organization, canceled all grants due to the poor economic situation, the research is largely financed by donations from the German Heinz Sielmann Foundation and the German Federal Environmental Foundation.
The facilities of the German ornithological station no longer exist, with the exception of the former museum building from 1931 (today a carpentry shop, with reduced architecture) not far from the church. Thienemann's house in today's Ul. Pobedy, in the direction of the lagoon, next to the current biological station (former Kurhaus), is still there. It has been greatly changed by several additions. A bilingual wooden plaque on the building indicates the previous owner and his importance: "In this house lived ... the well-known ... German ornithologist ... Thienemann ... the founder of the ornithological station Rossitten". Thienemann's grave in the Rossitten forest cemetery, which was devastated after the war, has been restored.
Thienemann married Clara Hedwig Hoffmann (1876–1960) in 1901. The son Hans-Georg Thienemann was the last director of the Königsberg zoo until 1945 and director of the Duisburg Zoo from 1946 to 1965 . In 1951, Duisburg sponsored the extinct Königsberg.
Johannes Thienemann is listed on the Significant Scholars of the University of Königsberg , which was unveiled in the Königsberg Cathedral in 2012 .
Fonts
- The ornithological station Rossitten of the German Ornithological Society and the identification of the birds. Paul Parey, Berlin 1910, digitized .
- Rossitten. Three decades on the Curonian Spit . Published by J. Neumann, Neudamm 1938.
- From bird migration in Rossitten. Published by J. Neumann, Neudamm 1931.
literature
- Frank Andert: Thienemänner in the Loessnitz. In: Preview & Review; Monthly magazine for Radebeul and the surrounding area. Radebeuler Monatshefte eV, December 2013, accessed on December 7, 2013 .
- Thomas Engelhardt: The ancestors of the "bird professor" Johannes Thienemann . Arbeitsgemeinschaft Genealogie Thüringen eV, bulletin no. 100, 23rd (25th) year, 2013, pp. 99-105
- Johannes Thienemann: I. Annual report (1901.) of the ornithological station Rossitten of the German Ornithological Society . In: Journal for Ornithology, 1902, pp. 137–209 ( digitized version )
Web links
- Literature by and about Johannes Thienemann in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thienemann, Johannes |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German ornithologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 12, 1863 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gangloffsommern , Thuringia |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 12, 1938 |
| Place of death | Rossitten , East Prussia |