Otto Löwenstein (zoologist)

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Otto Egon Löwenstein , also Otto Lowenstein , (born October 24, 1906 in Munich , † January 31, 1999 in Birmingham ) was a German - British zoologist .

Professional career

Otto Löwenstein was born in Munich. His father was a liberal Jewish merchant and his mother had a Catholic family background. The grandfather was a nature lover who introduced the grandson to this area of ​​interest. In Löwenstein's childhood, the family moved several times, so that he only started school when he was seven.

Löwenstein did his Abitur at the New Realgymnasium in Munich. He then studied chemistry , but under the influence of Karl von Frisch turned to zoology and passed the best exam in Bavaria . He explored the sense of balance of the minnow , which he and his dissertation written. In 1933 he went to the University of Birmingham on the initiative of Professor Harold Munro Fox . There he dealt with the living conditions of freshwater shrimp in waters with different salinity. With a thesis on this subject he obtained his second doctorate degree. “Such a radical change of research field demonstrated the versatility and broad knowledge of zoology and comparative physiology which were hallmarks of Otto Lowenstein as a scientist.” (German: “This radical change of research field reveals the versatility and broad knowledge of zoology and comparative physiology, which was Otto Löwenstein's trademark as a scientist. ”At this time, as a so-called half-Jew , he lost his financial support from Germany to study. Von Frisch nevertheless sent him money, which he declared came from a "special source"; Löwenstein himself later suspected that von Frisch supported him out of pocket.

In 1937 Löwenstein went to Exeter University College for a semester before becoming a lecturer at Glasgow University , where he worked until 1952. During the war , with the support of his wife Elsa, he maintained the reduced zoology classes in Glasgow. In 1940 he edited the sixth edition of the standard work A Text-book of Zoology by Thomas Jeffery Parker and William Aitcheson Haswell , which was first published in 1921. During his time in Glasgow he built his own electrophysiological equipment to measure the flow of current to the central nervous system . In 1947 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . In 1955 he returned to the University of Birmingham as Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society . He decided to rename his department to the Department of Zoology and Comparative Physiology. He was already using computers for his research when it was still in its infancy. After his retirement he continued his research with a grant from the Leverhulme Foundation . He also worked with the NASA together, the astronauts to space sickness suffered due to overloading of balance.

Private

Otto Löwenstein was considered a reserved man who did not take part in social events. He played the viola and made music with a few friends, painted and loved hiking. He was married three times; he was divorced from his first wife and widowed twice. He had a son.

Publications (selection)

  • Thomas Jeffery Parker / William A. Haswell: A textbook of zoology . Volume 1. 6th edition, revised by Otto Lowenstein. Macmillan; St Martin's P, 1967.
  • Experimental investigations on the minnow's sense of balance (Phoxinus laevis L.) In: Journal for comparative physiology . Volume 17, No. 4, 1932. pp. 806-854.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b R. McN Alexander: Otto Egon Lowenstein. 24 October 1906 - 31 January 1999 Elected FRS 1955 . In: Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society . tape 47 , January 11, 2001, p. 357-368 , doi : 10.1098 / rsbm.2001.0020 .
  2. ↑ a b L. H. Finlayson: Obituary: Professor Otto Lowenstein. February 22, 1999, accessed November 16, 2013 .
  3. ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed January 3, 2020 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Löwenstein, Otto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Löwenstein, Otto Egon (full name); Lowenstein, Otto (different spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-British zoologist
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH January 31, 1999
Place of death Birmingham