Leopold von Fichtel

Leopold von Fichtel (* 1770 in Sibiu ; † March 18, 1810 in Vienna ) was an Austrian paleontologist and explorer. He was a co-founder of the Austrian micropalaeontology.

Life

Leopold von Fichtel was the son of the geologist Johann Ehrenreich von Fichtel (1732–1795). Little is known about Fichtel's early youth. He was never married and had no paid job. In an obituary from 1810 he was referred to as a “Practicant at the Imperial and Royal Directorate”, that is, as an unpaid assistant in the Imperial and Royal Administration. Coming from a wealthy family, he is likely to have lived as a private citizen.

Fichtel's first scientific treatise was the German translation of the work Saggio di litologia vesuviana dedicato a SM la regina delle Due Sicilie by the volcanologist Giuseppe Gioeni in 1793. In 1798, Fichtel founded together with Johann Paul Karl von Moll (1735-1812) with the standard work Testacea microscopica micropalaeontology in Austria.

After the death of Andreas Xaverius Stütz (1747–1806), director of the Kk Hof-Naturalienkabinette in Vienna, Karl Franz Anton von Schreibers succeeded him in 1806. Schreiber was able to persuade Emperor Franz I to finance the purchase of natural history exhibits for the cabinet. Fichtel was subsequently to England sent and received for 18,000 guilders around 210 items that during the three Cook - South Sea had been collected.

Fichtel also financed his living by selling museum collections. In 1797, for example, he sold a collection of rare mussels and snails to the British Museum . In 1799 the School of Chemistry and Metallurgy in Kolozsvár acquired a mineral collection from his father for 5,000 gold florins . In 1804 Fichtel received 10,000 guilders for his extensive insect collection from East India .

Leopold von Fichtel died in 1810 of complications from tuberculosis .

Works

with Joh. Paul Carl Moll: Microscopic and other small switchgear from the Argonaute and Schiffer families . Monographs Evertebrata Mollusca 0002, 1803, pp. 1–123 online (PDF; 9.6 MB)

literature

Fred Rögl: L. von Fichtel and JPC von Moll and their scientific significance, in: Annalen des Naturhistorisches Museum Wien , 1982
KAZMER Annals of Bryozoology - Short biography Leopold von Fichtel ( PDF, Online ( Memento from April 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ))

Web links

Literature by and about Leopold von Fichtel in the catalog of the German National Library
Entry on Leopold von Fichtel in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
Literature list in the online catalog of the Berlin State Library
List in GoogleBooks

Individual evidence

↑ Martin Kirchmayer: Fichtel, Johann Ehrenreich von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , p. 125 f. ( Digitized version ).

personal data
SURNAME	Fichtel, Leopold von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Austrian paleontologist
DATE OF BIRTH	1770
PLACE OF BIRTH	Sibiu
DATE OF DEATH	March 18, 1810
Place of death	Vienna

[1] Martin Kirchmayer: Fichtel, Johann Ehrenreich von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , p. 125 f. ( Digitized version ).