Karl Leopold Escherich (18 September 1871 – 22 November 1951) was a German entomologist and professor of zoology. Known as a pioneer of applied entomology and expert in termites, he was rector of the
University of Munich from 1933 to 1936.
Escherich was born in
Schwandorf, Bavaria, to parents Hermann N. Escherich and Katharina von Stengel. His older brother
Georg Escherich
Georg Escherich (born 4 January 1870 in Schwandorf - died 26 August 1941 in Munich) was a German politician, representative of the Bavarian People's Party. By profession he was a forester.Tim Kirk, ''Cassell's Dictionary of Modern German History ...
would become a noted forester and politician.
He studied medicine in Munich and Würzburg, graduating in 1893. After gaining his postdoctoral qualification in Strasbourg in 1901, he received a professorship at the Department of Forest Zoology in
Tharandt in 1907, which had been orphaned since the death of
Hinrich Nitsche. In 1914 he joined the Chair of Applied Zoology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, where he succeeded
August Pauly
August Friedrich von Pauly (; ; 9 May 1796, in Benningen am Neckar – 2 May 1845, in Stuttgart) was a German educator and classical philologist.
From 1813 to 1818 he studied at the University of Tübingen, then furthered his education at Heidelb ...
. In 1917 he was elected a member of the
Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
After a 1911 trip to the United States, he conceived a plan to redesign
applied entomology
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 ara ...
in Germany after the American model. In 1913 he co-founded the German Society for Applied Entomology.
Karl Escherich was one of the few forestry academics who took part in the early Hitler movement of the inflation period. He joined the Nazi Party in 1921, and participated in the 1923
Munich Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...
. In 1924, he still participated in the election campaign for the "Volkischer Block", but remained remote from the new NSDAP.
For his research, Karl Escherich received the Goethe Medal for Art and Science.
To commemorate its founder, the German Society for Applied Entomology awards the Escherich Medal for outstanding achievements in the field of entomology.
References
External links
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1871 births
1951 deaths
German entomologists
People from Schwandorf (district)
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