Antonín Frič
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Antonín Jan Frič (in German: Anton Johann Fritsch, 30 July 1832 – 15 November 1913) was a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
,
biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
and
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
, living during the
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
era. Professor at the
Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...
and later became director of the National Museum in Prague. He became famous for his contributions on the field of Permo -
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
s.


Life and work

Frič was born in Prague, the second son of Dr Josef Frič (1804-1876), a well-known lawyer and politician who served in the Prague municipal council. His mother Johanna Reisová took an active role in the education of women. His father was a treasurer for the Czech museum (Matice česká from 1842) and he became interested in museums and collections at an early age. His brother Vaclav Frič became a major natural history collector and dealer. In 1848 Antonin volunteered at the museum under Maxmillian Dormitzer, dealing with collections from Central America made by Augusto Corda. At the age of nineteen he wrote a guide to ordering animal collections. From 1852 he became an unpaid assistant on the recommendation of Jan Evangelista Purkyně. Following his father's request he went to study law at the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague, but he then decided to move to the natural sciences and in 1854 he studied medicine and qualified in 1863. In 1860 he travelled to London and on his return he gave a talk on the Kensington museum and its activities. After the death of Dormitzer, he succeeded the position at the museum. He received a position in comparative anatomy at the medical faculty in 1864 and became an associate professor in 1871, and ordinary professor in 1881. For the Paris fair of 1867, he was involved in the production of large models of radiolarians based on the illustrations made by
Ernst Haeckel Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (; ; 16 February 1834 – 9 August 1919) was a German zoologist, natural history, naturalist, eugenics, eugenicist, Philosophy, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biology, marine biologist and artist ...
. Such models were later sold by his brother Vaclav. Other interests included birds and he published an illustrated book on the birds of Europe. Frič also became known for finding fossils once attributed to
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
s - '' Albisaurus albinus'' and '' Ponerosteus exogyrarum'' and so far the only
pterosaur Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...
known from the Czech Republic, '' Cretornis hlavaci''. The
pterosaur Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...
was small with a wingspan of about 1.5 m and lived in the
Turonian The Turonian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS' geologic timescale, the second age (geology), age in the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch, or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the Upper Cretaceous series (stratigraphy), ...
. The first true dinosaur known from the Czech Republic was discovered 90 years after Frič's death (in 2003). It is a small ornithopod of Cenomanian age. In 1884 he described and then repatriated the fossil shining leaf chafer
scarab beetle The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change. Several groups formerly tre ...
''
Anomalites fugitivus ''Anomalites'' is an extinct genus of shining leaf chafer scarab beetle which contains the solitary species ''Anomalites fugitivus''. The species was found preserved in Eocene age quartz from Central France and was first described by Antonín F ...
'' which had been found in a slab of Süßwasserquarz millstone being carved in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. The specimen originated from
Nogent-le-Rotrou Nogent-le-Rotrou () is a commune in the department of Eure-et-Loir, northern France. It is a sub-prefecture and is located on the river Huisne, 56 kilometres west of Chartres on the RN23 and 150 kilometres south west of Paris, to which it is l ...
, France and as a follower of
Joachim Barrande Joachim Barrande (11 August 1799 – 5 October 1883) was a French geologist and palaeontologist. He was particularly known for his work on trilobites, published in the ''Systéme Silurien de la Bohéme'' which he published in 22 parts. Trained und ...
s philosophy that fossils primarily belong to their country of origin, he gifted it to the
Jardin des plantes The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...
, Paris. Frič was a proponent of public education through museums and exhibitions. He was involved in organizing an exhibition at the conference of physicians and natural scientists held in Prague in 1882. In 1891 during the Jubilee Exhibition he again organized material on natural history. He became a specialist on museology and by the 1870s was proposing the creation of numerous local museums. In 1903 he had the option to design his own museum in Lázně Bělohrad at the age of 71. He made sketches of his own of the proposed structure on 31 July 1903. Four months later a committee was begun consisting of him, merchant Jindřich Pižl, mayor Václav Vlach and Alois Hoch, then a school principal. Land was allotted at Raisovi Sady and designs were made by Otto Tille, an architect. Alois Hoch became the director upon its opening. In 1912 Frič was made an honoured citizen of Bělohrad and shortly after his death the museum was renamed as the Frič Museum. Frič received the
Lyell Medal The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal. This medal is awarded based on one Earth Scientist's exceptional contribution of research to the scientific ...
from the
Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...
in 1902. The fossil gymnosperm genus '' Fricia'' was erected by
Josef Velenovský Josef Velenovský (22 April 1858 – 7 May 1949) was a Czech botanist, mycologist, pteridologist, and bryologist. He also worked with fossils. He was a research investigator and professor in the Botanical Institute of the University of Prague, ...
in 1885 in Frič's memory.


Bibliography

* (in English: "Natural History of European Birds")


References


External links


Biography (in Czech)
* Malá geologie (1875) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fric, Antonin 1832 births 1913 deaths Czech people from Austria-Hungary Paleontologists Biologists from Austria-Hungary Geologists from Austria-Hungary Scientists from Prague Lyell Medal winners Academic staff of Charles University