Victor Pietschmann

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Victor Pietschmann (born October 27, 1881 in Vienna ; † November 11, 1956 there ) was an Austrian ichthyologist . From 1919 to 1946 he was the administrator of the fish collection at the Natural History Museum Vienna . During his life he visited many parts of the world, and in some places he was the first European. He described many new species of fish, including some sharks.

Life

Pietschmann was born the son of the landowner Karl E. Pietschmann and his wife Ida (née Honny). He received his Matura in 1899 at the Piaristengymnasium in Vienna VIII. After completing his zoology studies with a doctorate in 1904 , he came to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, where he became Franz Steindachner's assistant , who was then in charge of the fish collection. A short time later he embarked on the first of his many trips; to the Barents Sea . Four years later he studied deep sea fishing on the south coast of Greenland . In the following years he undertook some important expeditions , around 1910 to Mesopotamia , during which he made many finds that are now classified as important. In 1914 he was surprised by the outbreak of World War I during an expedition in Armenia , which is why he stayed in Turkey and did military service there as an officer. In Erzurum he built up an alpine troop; there are photos of him teaching soldiers to ski.

At the beginning of 1919, Steindachner retired as head of the fish collection, and Pietschmann succeeded him. He held this post until his retirement. In 1927/28 he spent a year of study in Hawaii and the Pacific , further expeditions went to Kurdistan , Poland and Romania and in 1931 to Anatolia . He also toured the Danube Delta in 1925, 1934, 1935 and 1937 .

In 1930 he married Margarete Auguste Keldorfer. He had four children with her, including the physics professor Herbert Pietschmann .

After the collapse of the monarchy, Pietschmann was a "Greater German" and when Adolf Hitler joined the Anschluss, he wrote a letter to Hitler, which, however, on the advice of good friends, he never sent off. In it, he suggested “starting the matter from Vienna” and allowing the capital to commute between Vienna and Berlin. That was probably the reason why Pietschmann did not become director of the Natural History Museum when the post of Hermann Michel , who was removed from office on March 14, 1938, was filled. Actually, he was the only candidate to succeed Michel, but party member Hans Kummerlöwe was installed.

Viktor Pietschmann retired in 1946. In November 1956, he died of a stroke at the age of 75 .

Publications (selection)

Victor Pietschmann wrote around 50 scientific works and a great many popular scientific publications.

  • Expedition to Mesopotamia in 1910. 1911.
  • Ribbon fish and "Big Sea Snake". 1922.
  • Ice and palm trees - travel sketches from north and south. Wilhelm Braumüller Verlag, Vienna 1927.
  • Through Kurdish mountains and Armenian cities. Adolf Luser Verlag, Vienna 1940.
  • Guide through the special show "Ostmark Germans as researchers and collectors in our colonies": A share of the Ostmark in the research and development of the German colonial areas. Waldheim-Eberle, Vienna 1940.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Kähsbauer: Viktor Pietschmann † In: Annalen des Naturhistorisches Museum Wien 61, 1956, pp. 1-3.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pietschmann, Victor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pietschmann, Viktor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian ichthyologist
DATE OF BIRTH October 27, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH November 11, 1956
Place of death Vienna , Austria