Heinrich Ernst Karl Jordan (7 December 1861 – 12 January 1959) was a

German-British Germans in the United Kingdom form one of the largest minority groups in the country. Today, there are many Germans living in the United Kingdom, and many Britons or ''German British'' () have German ancestry, including the British royal family. ...

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 took a special interest in the taxonomy and classification of butterflies, beetles and fleas. Jordan was a founder of the

International Congress of Entomology The International Congress of Entomology (ICE) is the largest in-person conference for the science of entomology. It generally meets every 4 years, and has been held in locations around the world since 1910. Initially conferences were organized by ...

. Jordan was born in a farming family in

Almstedt Almstedt is a village and a former municipality in the district of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in E ...

, raised by an uncle after the death of his father in 1855, finished school in

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

and educated at

Göttingen University Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The orig ...

. After a year of military service, he taught at Münden Grammar School for five years and came in contact with zoologist

August Metzger August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo (astrology), Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin ...

and Count Berlepsch that led to a growth in his natural history interest. Through their recommendation he received an invitation to joined

Ernst Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (29 October 1859 – 11 November 1933) was a widely published German ornithologist. Life and career Hartert was born in Hamburg, Germany on 29 October 1859. In July 1891, he married the illustrator Claudia Bernadine E ...

at Rotschild's museum. In 1893 he began work at

Walter Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...

Natural History Museum at Tring The Natural History Museum at Tring was the private museum of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild; today it is under the control of the Natural History Museum, London. It houses one of the finest collections of stuffed mammals, birds, reptiles ...

, specialising in

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

and

Siphonaptera Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, ar ...

. Jordan published over 400 papers, many jointly with

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and Walter Rothschild. He described 2,575 new species himself, with an additional 851 in collaboration with the Rothschilds. Jordan married Minna Brünig in 1891, who he knew from a young age. Jordan initiated and founded the first International Entomological Congress, held in 1910 after being inspired by the zoological congresses that he attended at Berlin and Cambridge. He became a naturalized British citizen in 1911. Jordan was a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, and president of the

Entomological Society of London The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Society of London ...

from 1929 to 1930. Jordan is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of African lizard, ''

Karusasaurus jordani ''Karusasaurus jordani'', Jordan's girdled lizard or the Namibian girdled lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Cordylidae. It is a small, spiny lizard found in Namibia. Etymology The specific name, ''jordani'', is in honor of German-bor ...

''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Jordan", p. 136). In 1972, the

Lepidopterists' Society The Lepidopterists' Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of Butterfly, butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera). Founded in 1947 and based in the United States, it has an international focus and membership. Publications The s ...

began to award the

Karl Jordan Medal Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

in his honour.

References

Sources

* Rothschild, Miriam (1983). ''Dear Lord Rothschild: Birds, Butterflies and History''. London: Hutchinson. 398 pp. . *Johnson, Kristin (2012). ''Ordering Life: Karl Jordan and the Naturalist Tradition'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. viii + 376 pp. (hardcover), (electronic). (hardcover), (electronic).

External links

Internet Archive
''A Revision of the Lepidopterous Family Sphingidae'' (1903).
Scholars Archive at Oregon State University
''Karl Jordan: A Life in Systematics'' (2003). {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Karl 1861 births 1959 deaths Scientists from Lower Saxony Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society German lepidopterists Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom 19th-century German zoologists 20th-century German zoologists German emigrants to the United Kingdom