Simon of Nathusius

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Simon von Nathusius, ca.1910
Simon von Nathusius, ca.1888

Simon Johannes Engelhard von Nathusius (born February 24, 1865 in Althaldensleben , † September 24, 1913 in Halle (Saale) ) was a German scientist and university professor. He came from a family that became known in the Magdeburg area in the 19th century.

Youth and education

Simon von Nathusius was the eleventh child and ninth son of District Administrator Heinrich Engelhard von Nathusius , a manorial estate owner in Althaldensleben and a member of the Provincial Parliament, and his wife Luise, née Behmer. He lived a carefree youth on the former monastery estate Althaldensleben, only overshadowed by the loss of his mother as a 12-year-old. From around this point on, he attended the Progymnasium in Magdeburg and then the monastery school in Roßleben , where he graduated from high school in 1885. As a result, he first studied law and history in Berlin, but then switched to the more interesting study of agriculture in Halle (Saale). After basic studies, he completed a practical agricultural year on a Diest estate in Plantikow ( Pomerania ), then continued his studies in Berlin and completed his studies in Halle in 1891 with a dissertation under Julius Kühn .

Working life

farmer

Nathusius' father had died in 1890 and the children who had inherited had initially decided that Simon von Nathusius should continue the farm in Althaldensleben. In 1894, however, the property had to be sold because the siblings could not agree on a division of the estate while maintaining the business. Now Nathusius turned entirely to scientific activity.

University professor

In 1897 he completed his habilitation as a private lecturer at the University of Breslau and in 1902 became an associate professor for animal breeding at the University of Jena. Since 1910 he was a full professor of agriculture , professor and director of the Department of Animal Breeding and dairying at the Agricultural Institute of the University of Halle. In the appointment proposal of the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Halle, it was stated, among other things, that “there is currently no one among the extraordinary animal breeding teachings who can be equated with him”. Nathusius placed a special focus of his work as a university professor on evaluating and promoting the work of his teacher Julius Kühn. With Karl Steinbrück (1869–1932), who later became full professor for agricultural management and director of the agricultural institute at the University of Halle, he founded the Kühn Archive (1911ff.) Of the University of Halle. In the three years of his teaching activity in Halle, he supervised 20 doctoral students. As early as 1904, Nathusius had also published the German horse breeding magazine.

In the spring of 1913 he made a two-month trip to the Crimea and southern Russia, also to buy breeding rams there to set up his own karakul breed in the pet garden in Halle. In September 1913, however, he fell ill with middle ear suppuration, which was treated and operated too late. On September 24, 1913, Nathusius died in Halle at the age of 48.

The so-called “pet garden” of the agricultural institute in Halle / Saale on an engraving from 1888
Professor Simon von Nathusius examines a Hanover-Braunschweig country pig bred in the pet garden, presented by Hofmeister Müller, 1911

scientist

In his scientific work, Nathusius concentrated primarily on his specialist areas of heredity and animal breeding. He gained many of his findings in the aforementioned pet garden of the then agricultural institute of the University of Halle, which was to become the world's most important collection of pets (hundreds of animals were kept for breeding experiments; the skeleton collection in the museum that is accessible today even includes several thousand specimens). Here pioneering crossbreeding experiments and breed comparisons were carried out by Julius Kühn and Nathusius, which contributed to the clarification of the meaning of the genetic makeup of parent animals. The breeding experiments in which the rediscovered Mendelian rules were applied were of particular importance . The theoretical work of Hermann Settegast , Julius Kühn and Nathusius was also of fundamental importance for later breeding work for pig breeding.

Under the direction of Nathusius, the pet garden founded by Julius Kühn in 1865 was completely redesigned. In addition to his scientific activities, Nathusius was also very interested in developing concrete solutions for practice. While previously research on the parentage and relationship of domestic animals was essentially only done in the pet garden, under Nathusius more and more practical animal studies were carried out. The new building of the animal breeding institute was also carried out according to his plans, which, however, could not be finally realized until 1914 - after his death.

DLG

While still a student (1889) Nathusius became a member of the German Agricultural Society , in whose work he was very interested. In 1896 he was elected to the DLG special committee for horse breeding , an area to which his sympathies and scientific and practical inclinations belonged primarily. Nathusius introduced measurements on horses to differentiate between breed conditions in Germany. From 1909 he organized and directed the auditing of the German horse breeding associations on behalf of the German Agricultural Society .

Functions

Nathusius was active in various institutions, including a member of the Horse Breeding Association of the Province of Saxony and a co-founder and board member of the German Society for Breeding Studies . He was elected to the Committee for Livestock by the Chamber of Agriculture of the Province of Saxony . The commercial horse breeders elected him as chairman of the stallion licensing committee .

Awards

Nathusius received the large bronze medal for services to horse breeding . In autumn 1912, the Simon von Nathusius Prize of the Horse Breeding Association of the Province of Saxony was donated to him in honor . Also in 1912 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

family

On August 19, 1899, Simon von Nathusius married Alice Lüdert (1880–1960), daughter of Hermann Lüdert, a businessman and his wife, Lilly Deppermann, in Hamburg. The couple had three children. The son Heinrich (1900–1964) initially studied agriculture, following his father's interests. He received his doctorate in 1926 with a dissertation on horse measurements under his father's successor at the University in Halle, Professor Gustav Frölich . He later became managing director in the electrical industry. In 1902 the daughter Lilly was born, who from 1924 - also influenced by the father's activities - worked as an assistant to the important agricultural professors Theodor Roemer and his successor Gustav Könnecke , as well as the Detmold professor Paul Friedrich Pelshenke , a student of Roemer. In 1955, the summary of Theodor Roemer's life and his catalog raisonné appeared. The second daughter was named Ehrengard.

Simon von Nathusius' father Heinrich Engelhard had several brothers who were also known as breeders and scientists: Hermann von Nathusius , August Engelhard von Nathusius and Wilhelm Engelhard von Nathusius .

Atlas of the breeds and forms of our domestic animals in four parts. I. series: the horse breeds , II. Series: the pig breeds . The sheep breeds. The goat breeds, III. : Series IV series. Etc variety of forms, caused by variability, purpose of use, breeding, age, gender .
Simon von Nathusius was editor of the fourth and fifth editions of the standard work Schwarzenecker's Pferdzucht , here the fifth edition from 1910
Our horse breeding and remounting , article by Simon von Nathusius in the magazine Ross und Reiter, Illustrierte Wochenschrift für Pferdekunde, - use and breeding , Officer's Horse Association GmbH, 3rd year, No. 38, September 19, 1903, Berlin, 1903

Works

Simon von Nathusius published around 250 books or articles on compilations or specialist media. This includes:

  • Differences between the oriental and occidental horse group on the skeleton and on the living horse. Contribution to the race of our pets . Dissertation, Parey, Berlin 1891
  • About measurements on live horses . In: DLG yearbook No. 10, 1895, pp. 181–213
  • Something about the influence of oxalic acid in feed. After experiments on sheep . Habilitation thesis of April 30, 1897, Galle, Breslau 1897
  • The stallions of the Royal Prussian State Studs 1896–1897. A contribution to the customer of horse punches in Germany . Issue 43 of the work of the DLG, Berlin 1899
  • Horse breeding with special consideration of the business point of view. Guide for breeders, owners and friends of the horse. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1902
  • Schwarzenecker's horse breeding . Simon von Nathusius (Ed.), 4th edition (1902) and 5th edition (1910), Paul Parey, Berlin / Halle 1902 and 1910
  • Atlas of the breeds and forms of our domestic animals , in 6 parts (series): I. Horse breeds, II. Cattle breeds, III. Sheep, pig and goat breeds, IV. Poultry breeds, V. Dog breeds, VI. Differences in shape, caused by gender, rearing, purpose, variability, etc. - partly with original drawings by the animal painter Thomas von Nathusius , Verlag von Eugen Ulmer in Stuttgart, Verlag für Landwirtschaft, Obst- und Gartenbau, Stuttgart from 1904
  • with Felix Hoesch: horse breeding . 2 parts. 1. General and breeding of the cold-blooded horse, 2. The cold-blooded horse, its breeding, care and keeping . Agricultural library, Jena 1905
  • Measurements on mares, stallions and utility horses. A contribution to the customer of horse punches in Germany . Issue 112 of the work of the DLG, Berlin 1905
  • Task, implementation and previous result of measurements on live horses . German Society for Breeding Science (pamphlet), Berlin 1910
  • Horse breeding and racing . In: Illustrated agricultural lexicon . Fourth, revised edition, Berlin 1910
  • Measurements on 1460 breeding horses and 590 soldier horses. Third contribution to the customer of horse lashings in Germany . Booklet 205 of the work of the DLG, Berlin 1911
  • The pet garden and the associated collections in the Agricultural Institute of the University of Halle, short guide for visitors and interested parties . Schaper, Hanover 1912
  • Animal breeding in: Philipp Zorn , Herbert von Berger (editor): Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II. , Ed. v. Siegfried Körte, Friedrich Wilhelm von Loebell a . a. 3 volumes. R. Hobbing, Berlin 1914.

literature

  • Fritz Dinkhauser : Animal Breeding . In: Otto Keune (Ed.): Men who created food . 1952, pp. 342-344 and 542
  • J. Hansen: Simon von Nathusius †. In: German agricultural animal breeding . No. 41, 1913
  • Heinz Henseler : Prof. Dr. Simon of Nathusius. His life picture . In: Kühn Archive (3), Dean of the Agricultural Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (ed.), 2nd half volume, 1913, pp. VII – XIII
  • Heinz Henseler: Simon von Nathusius. His publications . In: Kühn Archive , Dean of the Agricultural Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Ed.), 4, 1914, pp. 425–442
  • G. von Heydebreck: Prof. Dr. Simon of Nathusius . In: Illustrated agricultural newspaper . Volume 35, No. 34, 1915, pp. 223-224
  • Meyer's Large Conversation Lexicon . Volume 14, Leipzig 1908, p. 422
  • Lilly von Nathusius: Johann Gottlob Nathusius (1760–1835) and his descendants as well as his nephew Moritz Nathusius with his descendants . Detmold 1964, pp. 204-206
  • Heinz Nowak : Nathusius, Simon von. In: Guido Heinrich, Gunter Schandera (ed.): Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon 19th and 20th centuries. Biographical lexicon for the state capital Magdeburg and the districts of Bördekreis, Jerichower Land, Ohrekreis and Schönebeck. Scriptum, Magdeburg 2002, ISBN 3-933046-49-1 .
  • Konrad zu Putlitz , Lothar Meyer (Ed.): Landlexikon . Volume 4, 1913
  • Ferdinand Wohltmann : Prof. Dr. Simon von Nathusius-Halle †. Obituary held in the Magdalen Chapel in Halle a. S. on September 26, 1913 . In: Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Presse (40, 79, 948), 1913 as well as Kühn-Archiv , Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Ed.), No. 3, 2nd half volume, 1913, p. V-VI

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ according to Genealogical manual of the nobility . Volume 57 of the complete series, Adelige Häuser B, Volume XI, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg ad Lahn 1974, p. 323
  2. ↑ Differences between the oriental and occidental horse group ... see bibliography
  3. ↑ Something about the influence of oxalic acid ... see bibliography
  4. ↑ Entry on Simon von Nathusius in the Catalogus Professorum Halensis (accessed on July 28, 2015)
  5. ↑ according to An information from the publishing house of Eugen Ulmer from 1904 to advertise the four wall charts for the assessment of the horse published by Simon von Nathusius at this publishing house , the military literature newspaper (No. 7) published the following text in 1903: The name Nathusius has in sounded good to the circles of animal breeders. And especially Simon von Nathusius can undoubtedly count himself among the most important authorities in the field of horse breeding and equine science. ...
  6. ↑ Entry on Karl Steinbrück in the Catalogus Professorum Halensis (accessed on July 28, 2015)
  7. ↑ according to Lilly von Nathusius: Johann Gottlob Nathusius ... , p. 203 see bibliography
  8. ↑ according to Meyers Großer Konversations-Lexikon , see bibliography
  9. ↑ Entry on Simon von Nathusius in the Catalogus Professorum Halensis (accessed on July 28, 2015) (with original source named there: UAH PA 11835), it is stated that Nathusius bought the Karakul sheep for the German colony of South West Africa
  10. ↑ Lilly von Nathusius: Johann Gottlob Nathusius ... p. 203, see bibliography
  11. ↑ a b c from the archive of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Institute for Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Museum for Pet Science "Julius Kühn", Halle (Saale)
  12. ↑ according to Museum für Petkunde Julius Kühn , website of the Institute for Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences ( Memento of the original from April 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / s4.landw.uni-halle.de
  13. ^ H. Falkenberg and H. Hammer: On the history and culture of pig breeding and keeping . 3. Mitt., Pig breeding and husbandry in Germany from 1650 to 1900 . In: Breeding Science . Volume 79, No. 2, Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2007, pp. 92-110, ISSN  0044-5401
  14. ↑ The date of the year is given at: Website of the animal breeding institute of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
  15. ^ A b Heinz Nowak: Simon von Nathusius , see bibliography
  16. ↑ see also the bibliography by Theodor Roemer

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Commons : Simon von Nathusius  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Nathusius, Simon of
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nathusius, Simon Johannes Engelhard von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German university professor and scientist
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Althaldensleben
DATE OF DEATH September 24, 1913
Place of death Halle (Saale)