Rudolf Siegrist

Rudolf Siegrist (born September 14, 1886 in Uerkheim ; † November 2, 1965 ) was a Swiss politician ( SP ), scientist and teacher.

biography

Siegrist, the son of an advanced training teacher, first attended the district school and then the Aarau Cantonal School (today: Aarau Old Cantonal School ). After graduating from high school in 1905, he studied natural sciences and mathematics at the ETH Zurich . In 1908 he acquired the subject teacher diploma. As a teacher, he worked to reduce the dependence of lessons on textbooks and instead set up a reference library that should be freely available to all students.

For years he was the head of the Aarau Cadet Corps . After his reform proposals were rejected by the conference of the Aargau cadet commissions in 1920, he resigned from his office. In addition to his teaching and rector activities, he became a member of the cantonal education council, president of the cantonal teachers' conference, member of the maturity commission and the patent examination commissions in Wettingen and Aarau.

In 1930, after 21 years as a district school teacher, he switched to the Aarau Teachers' Seminar (today: New Cantonal School Aarau ), where he taught the natural sciences. He had to give up this office in 1932 after he had been elected to the government council of the canton of Aargau . He remained loyal to politics until 1959.

From 1925 to 1965 he was a member, from 1958 President of the Board of Directors of the Aargau Electricity Works .

Scientific work

Siegrist was strongly committed to the floodplain forests , especially under the influence of the ETH professor Carl Schroeter , who dedicated his main work, "The Plant Life of the Alps", to the high mountain flora. Another important impulse came from the Swiss Prof. Dr. J. Braun-Blanquet , who was then working in Montpellier. He expanded the sociology of plants , i.e. the teaching of the formation of society by plants, and became a recognized representative of this research direction. After completing his studies, Rudolf Siegrist moved to Montpellier for two semesters in order to be introduced to this research area. After returning to Switzerland, he worked as a district school teacher on his dissertation entitled “The Aare Auenwälder”, which he completed in 1913.

In 1952 he asked the Aargau Electricity Works for financial support for research into the plant communities of Swiss floodplains . He succeeded in setting up a fund for Swiss alluvial forest research. During the last years of his life he tried again and again to find time for scientific work. In 1953 he published his last work on river gravel in the canton of Aargau and their settlement by plants.

Political commitment

At first Siegrist belonged to the left-wing liberals (radicals). In 1932 he was the first representative of the Social Democratic Party (SP) to be elected to the Aargau government council. Before his resignation in 1955, he was Landammann five times, bringing around 100 laws, decrees and ordinances through the decision-making process. In 1943 he was elected to the National Council, to which he belonged until 1959.

monument

Monument on the Aare

In 1965 a memorial stone with a bronze medallion designed by Eduard Spörri was erected for Rudolf Siegrist , which stands on the Aareuferweg in the Telli .

Works

The floodplain forests of the Aare: with special consideration of their genetic connection with other plant communities that accompany the river . Aarau 1913
On the cadet reform in Aargau. With special consideration of the Aarau Cadet Corps , Aarau 1919 (Verlag Sauerländer)
Across the floodplains of the Ticino River: study of soil formation and the succession of plant communities . In: Festschrift Carl Schröter; Publications of the Geobotanical Institute Rübel in Zurich. Zurich 1925, pp. 127–169
Alluvial forests: Forays through the Brugg Aare landscape . Brugg 1927
The last stocks of sea buckthorn on the lower Aare (Hippophae Rhamnoides): a natural forest succession on dry river gravel terraces . In: Communications of the Aargau Natural Research Society 1928, pp. 25–52
The river gravel of the Ice Age in Aargau and their natural plant colonization: a geological-climatological-botanical study . Aarau 1953
The Aare near Klingnau: a topographical and scientific study . Zurich 1962

Individual evidence

↑ Patrick Zehnder: Rudolf Siegrist. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 24, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011 .
^ Aargauische Elektrizitätswerke (Aarau): Rudolf Siegrist as a person and a teacher. In: Dr. Rudolf Siegrist in memory. , 1965, pp. 12-21.
^ ^A ^b Aargauische Elektrizitätswerke (Aarau): Rudolf Siegrist as a member of the government. In: Dr. Rudolf Siegrist in memory. , 1965, pp. 22-30.
^ ^A ^b Aargauische Elektrizitätswerke (Aarau): Rudolf Siegrist as a natural scientist. In: Dr. Rudolf Siegrist in memory. , 1965, pp. 31-34.

personal data
SURNAME	Siegrist, Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swiss politician (SP), scientist and teacher
DATE OF BIRTH	September 14, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH	Uerkheim
DATE OF DEATH	November 2, 1965

[1] Patrick Zehnder: Rudolf Siegrist. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 24, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011 .

[Mensch_und_Lehrer-2] Aargauische Elektrizitätswerke (Aarau): Rudolf Siegrist as a person and a teacher. In: Dr. Rudolf Siegrist in memory. , 1965, pp. 12-21.

[Regierungsrat-3] A ^b Aargauische Elektrizitätswerke (Aarau): Rudolf Siegrist as a member of the government. In: Dr. Rudolf Siegrist in memory. , 1965, pp. 22-30.

[Naturforscher-4] A ^b Aargauische Elektrizitätswerke (Aarau): Rudolf Siegrist as a natural scientist. In: Dr. Rudolf Siegrist in memory. , 1965, pp. 31-34.