Otto Haas (paleontologist)

Otto Haas (born March 20, 1887 in Brno , † March 26, 1976 in Reno ) was an Austrian paleontologist and lawyer .

Haas studied at the University of Vienna since 1905 , initially earth sciences, but then following the family tradition of law and was awarded a Dr. jur. PhD. He then studied geology and paleontology and was awarded a Dr. phil. PhD. 1914-18 he took part in the First World War, which he ended as a first lieutenant in the general staff. He then worked as a lawyer in Vienna. In 1939 he left Vienna because he was no longer allowed to work as a lawyer due to the Nazi race laws. When he emigrated, his training as a paleontologist came to the rescue. He emigrated via London, where he worked briefly at the British Museum , to the USA, whose citizenship he also accepted. Initially working briefly at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University and at the Field Museum in Chicago , he found a position at the American Museum of Natural History in New York . In 1955 he retired, but continued to work at the museum.

From 1960 to 1966 he taught at the School of Mining at the University of Nevada in Reno and then oversaw the university's fossil collection.

He especially researched the mollusks of the Mesozoic Era , especially the ammonites of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods .

Publications (selection)

See the list of publications in the communications of the Austrian Geological Society. 68, 1978, pp. 179-182 ( online on ZOBODAT ).

• About a cephalopod find in the upper Jura of the Loser near Alt-Aussee. In: Communications from the Geological Society. 1, 1908, pp. 385-395 online (PDF; 1.0 MB).
• Report on new collections in the Zlambach marls in the Fischerwiese near Alt-Aussee. In: Contributions to the palaeontology and geology of Austria-Hungary and the Orient. 22, 1909, pp. 143-167.
• The fauna of the middle Lias of Ballino in South Tyrol. I. and II. Part. In: Contributions to the palaeontology and geology of Austria-Hungary and the Orient. Pp. 25 and 26, 1912 and 1913, pp. 223-285 and 1-161.

literature

• Viktor Petters : Otto Haas . In: Communications from the Austrian Geological Society. 68, 1978, pp. 177-182 with picture ( online ).
• Helmuth Zapfe : Index Palaeontologicorum Austriae (= Catalogus fossilium Austriae issue 15). Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1971, p. 41 ( online ).