Aleksander Zawadzki (naturalist)


Aleksander Zawadzki, born Józef Antoni Zawadzki, was a Polish naturalist, author of flora and fauna lists of the Galicia region and the neighbourhood of Lviv. He was also the first scientist who studied and catalogued the beetles and butterflies of Eastern Galicia.

Biography

Zawadski was the teacher of zoologist Stanisław Konstanty Pietruski and between 1835–37 he was a lecturer of botany and then professor of physics at Lviv University.
In the years 1854–68 he studied evolution, and in Brno, where he arrived as a result of the turmoil caused by the Spring of Nations, became a mentor of Gregor Mendel, directing his talent toward the development of the theory of evolution and helping to lay the foundations of genetics.
He was a member of several scientific societies, and the editor of Lviv's magazines Rozmaitości and Mnemozyna.
Chrysanthemum zawadskii, a species of chrysanthemum described by Franz Herbich, is named after him.

Published Work

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