Friedrich August Rudolph Kolenati (12 September 1812 – 17 July 1864) was a Czech- German

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and zoologist active primarily in Prague and

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. Kolenati was born in Prague where he completed elementary school and high school, then after graduation from the Medical Faculty of

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

as a student of the natural sciences, especially botany and

entomology Entomology () is the science, 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 ...

, he continued as an assistant in botany. In 1842 he moved to Russia as an assistant in zoology at the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences. From 1842 to 1845 he participated in explorations of the Caucasus, ranging from the

Azov Sea The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

to Nagorno-Karabakh, and later conducted a survey of the lower Don River. In 1845 Kolenati returned to Prague, where he was named an Associate Professor of Natural History. In 1848 he played an active part in the revolutionary events of the time, for which he was subsequently arrested. After his release from prison, he gave lectures in

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

and zoology at the Prague Polytechnic Institute and worked as a professor of natural history at the Lesser gymnasium. In 1848 he co-founded the Lotos Science Association, and was appointed full professor of natural science and technology at the Polytechnic Institute at

. In this department during his tenure significantly expanded its natural history collections, especially its mineralogical collections. He died while on a research trip to

Praděd Praděd (; german: Altvater; pl, Pradziad; literally " great grandfather") () is the highest mountain of the Hrubý Jeseník mountains, Moravia, Czech Silesia and Upper Silesia and is the fifth-highest mountain of the Czech Republic. The highes ...

and is buried in Little Morávka. Kolenati was a member of the Royal Czech Society of Sciences, published more than 50 entomological works, and was also considered an expert on bats. His collection of beetles from the first half of the 19th century has become one of the foundations of the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

's entomological collection in Prague.

Bibliography

*Kolenati, F. A.: 1845, . Titelblatt:' Meletemata Entomologica''. Fasc. I. . Titelblatt:''Insecta Caucasi cum distributione geographica. Coleopterorum Pentamera carnivora''. Bedrich (= Friedrich) Anton Kolenati Petropoli, Sumtibus Imperialis Academiae Scientiarum: 2 Titelbl. + 1 – 88, col. Taf. I – II, 1845. (Horn, W. Misc. ent. Band 3, Arbeit 15). *Kolenati, F. A.: 1848, ''Genera et species Trichopterorum''. 1. Heteropalpoidea, Pragae, pp ?? *Kolenati, F. A.: 1857, Synopsis Prodroma der Nycteribien. ''Wiener Entomol. Monatschr.'', 1, 61 – 62. *Kolenati, F. A.: 1858, Die Bereisung Hocharmeniens und Elisabethopols, der Schekinschen Provinzund des Kasbek im Central – Kaukasus, Dresden: Kuntze, VI, 289 pp. *Kolenati, F. A.: 1860, Die larve von Elmis maugetii Latr. ''Wiener entom. Monatschrift'', 1, 88 – 89. *Kolenati, F. A.: 1863, Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Phthirio – Myiarien. Horae Soc. ''Entomol. Ross''., 2, 9 – 109.

References

Moravian-German people 19th-century German botanists German entomologists 19th-century German zoologists 1812 births 1864 deaths Scientists from Prague German naturalists Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina {{Germany-botanist-stub