Samuel Friedrich Nathaniel Ritter von Stein (November 3, 1818 – January 9, 1885) was a German

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

. He was Professor at the

Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry The Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry (German: ''Königliche-Sächsische Forstakademie'') in Tharandt, Saxony, near Dresden, was founded by silviculturist Heinrich Cotta in 1811. Established in conjunction with the school, and later integrated wit ...

Tharandt Tharandt () is a municipality in Saxony, Germany, situated on the Weißeritz, 9 miles southwest of Dresden. It has a Protestant Church and the oldest academy of forestry in Germany, founded as the Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry by Heinrich Cott ...

from 1850–55; and Professor, and later Rector, at the

Charles University in Prague Charles University ( cs, Univerzita Karlova, UK; la, Universitas Carolina; german: Karls-Universität), also known as Charles University in Prague or historically as the University of Prague ( la, Universitas Pragensis, links=no), is the oldest an ...

, from 1855–76. His scientific work focused on invertebrates, and mainly on ''

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

''.

Early life, education, and family

Stein was born in

Niemegk Niemegk () is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") Niemegk. Geography The municipal area is situated on the northeastern slopes of the Flämi ...

, near

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

. He completed his studies in 1841, conducting doctoral work at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. On May 29, 1844, in Berlin, he married Emma Johanne Couard Ottilie (born December 30, 1823, in Berlin; died 2 September 1903, in Asch). The couple had nine children. The next to last, daughter Adelheid von Stein (born May 25, 1859), married Joseph Neuwirth.

Career

Stein's scientific work focused on invertebrates, and mainly on ''Diptera'', as well as single-celled animals. His work on ''

infusoria Infusoria are minute freshwater life forms including ciliates, euglenoids, protozoa, unicellular algae and small invertebrates. Some authors (e.g., Bütschli) used the term as a synonym for Ciliophora. In modern formal classifications, the term i ...

'' became the basis for all subsequent research in this area.Assessment of the Dresden University of Technology. See: (in German). Stein was appointed as Curator of the Zoological Museum at the University of Berlin, in 1849. From 1850 to 1855, he was professor of zoology and botany at the Academy of Forestry in Tharandt,

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, 20 km south-west of

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. Tharandt had one of the leading forestry schools in Germany. Formal education in forestry began about 1840 when private forestry schools were established. These were the outgrowth of the old master schools. The forestry college at Tharandt developed from Cotta Master School. Though not of the same order, Tharandt had close connections with the

French National School of Forestry The French National School of Forestry (''École nationale des eaux et forêts'', or National School of Water Resources and Forestry), established in Nancy, France, in 1824, was the first national training institute for foresters in France ...

, which had been established in

Nancy, France Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, an ...

, in 1825. The work at Tharandt, under Stein's supervision was of a very high order, thoroughly professional and of very high technical standards. In 1855, he became professor at the

, where he worked until retirement. He served as Rector of the university in the 1875–76 academic year.

Honors

Stein was ennobled on April 27, 1878, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

by Emperor Franz Josef I.

Works

* , Berlin: Brandes et Klewert, 1841 * , Berlin: Reimer, 1850 * , Leipzig: Engelmann, 1854 * , Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann ** , 1859 ** , 1867 ** ***, 1878 *** , 1883 * , Vienna: Staatsdruckerei, 1863

References

German entomologists 1818 births 1885 deaths People from the Province of Brandenburg Dipterists Charles University faculty Forestry in Germany History of forestry education Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry faculty {{forestry-researcher-stub