Wolfgang Himmelbaur

Wolfgang Himmelbaur (born June 16, 1886 in Vienna ; † September 29, 1937 there ) was an Austrian botanist . As head of the department for medicinal plant cultivation and drug testing at the agricultural-chemical research station in Vienna for many years, he sustainably promoted the cultivation of medicinal plants in Austria .

Live and act

Wolfgang Baur sky, scion of an old-Austrian official's family, son of Isidor sky Baur and Marietta sky Baur , was in 1904 at a grammar school in Vienna , the Graduate and studied from 1905 at the University of Vienna science, especially botany . In 1909 he received his doctorate there with a thesis in the field of flower morphology . After studying at the State Botanical Institute in Hamburg , he joined the Agricultural and Chemical Research Station (today the Federal Research Institute) in Vienna in 1911, where he initially dealt with current issues of plant protection. In 1914 he qualified as a professor at the University of Vienna with the text Die Berberidaceen and their position in the system and received the Venia legendi for systematic botany.

After four years of military service, he returned to Vienna in 1918. In 1919 he was appointed head of the department for medicinal plant cultivation and drug testing at the Agricultural Chemical Research Station . The management of the state medicinal plant facilities in Korneuburg was connected with this position . Primarily, he devoted his life to the expansion of these two facilities. Since 1919 he has given lectures on botany at the University of Vienna , and from 1923 on medicinal plant culture. In 1931 he was awarded the title of associate professor .

Himmelbaur made significant contributions to the cultivation of medicinal plants in Austria. As a member of the board of the Association of Austrian Medicinal and Spice Plant Producers, he developed successful organizational and journalistic activities. He became internationally known for his “ Drug World Map ” , which he developed together with B. Hollinger and published in 1927 . His field tests carried out in many parts of Austria on the influence of soil, weather and climate on the yield and quality of medicinal plants were predominantly aimed at practice. His list of publications includes around 110 publications.

As an admirer of the life's work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Himmelbaur published smaller writings on his botanical studies in 1913 and 1914. For the three-volume Goethe-Handbuch published by Julius Zeitler from 1916 to 1918 , he worked on botanical and zoological keywords.

For his services as a botanist and medicinal plant researcher, Himmelbaur received the Knight's Cross of the Order of the French Legion of Honor in 1935 and in 1937, shortly before his untimely death, the Knight's Cross First Class of the Austrian Order of Merit .

Publications (selection)

• A flower morphological and embryological study of Datisca cannabina L. Diss. Phil. Univ. Vienna 1909. In: Meeting reports of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna, mathemat.-naturwiss. Class. Abt. I, Vol. 118, 1909, pp. 91-113.
• The Berberidaceae and their position in the system. A phylogenetic study . In: Memorandum of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna, mathemat.-naturwiss. Class Vol. 89, 1913, pp. 733-796. - Zugl .: Habilitation thesis 1914.
• Botanical and zoological keywords . In: Goethe manual. Edited by Julius Zeitler, 3 volumes, Metzler Stuttgart publishing house, 1916–18.
• Drugs World Map (together with B. Hollinger), Vienna 1927, 48 pages and seven colored maps, in three languages: German, English and Spanish.
• Experiments on the influence of altitude on the yield and content of some medicinal plants . In: Heil- und Gewürzverbindungen Vol. 14, 1931/32, pp. 121-149.
• Memorandum on the 25th anniversary of the Committee for the State Promotion of the Cultivation of Medicinal Plants in Austria . Edited by Wolfgang Himmelbaur and Otto Dafert. Vienna 1935.

literature

• Erwin Janchen: Wolfgang Himmelbaur . In: Reports of the German Botanical Society, vol. 55, 1937, general assembly booklet, pp. (209) - (219) (with picture and list of scriptures).
• Richard Wasiky: Obituary for Wolfgang Himmelbaur . In: Pharmaceutical Monthly Issues Vol. 18, 1937, pp. 165-167.
• Wolfgang Himmelbaur, botanist . In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 Vol. 2, 1959, pp. 320–321.
• Kurt Ganzinger:  Himmelbaur, Wolfgang. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7 , p. 171 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Himmelbaur Wolfgang. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 2, publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1959, p. 320 f. (Direct links on p. 320 , p. 321 ).

Web links

• Literature by and about Wolfgang Himmelbaur in the catalog of the German National Library