Béla Hankó (July 5, 1886 – November 16, 1959) was a Hungarian zoologist who took a special interest in

ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

and in the history of animal keeping in Hungary. Hankó was born in Poprád to physician Artúr and Gizella Burger and after school he went to the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

where he received a doctorate in the humanities in 1910. He then worked as a research assistant in the department of zoology. In 1911 he worked in

Heligoland Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...

and then travelled around Europe. In 1925 he became a fish economics teacher at the Balaton biological station at Révfülöp. In 1927 he became director of the Tihany Biological Institute. He moved to

University of Debrecen The University of Debrecen ( ) is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary ever since its establishment in 1538. The university has a well established progra ...

in 1929. Between 1940 and 1944 he was at the

University of Cluj A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and worked there until his retirement in 1950. He emigrated to Canada in 1957. Hankó's major work was on the fishes, particularly of Asia Minor. He also worked on pisciculture and the distributions of fishes in Hungary. He took a special interest in the history of pets and domestic animals in Hungary and wrote a book on the subject in 1943.

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Magyar háziállataink
(1943, "our Hungarian pets")
Halak
(1948, "Fishes") {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanko, Bela 1886 births 1959 deaths 19th-century Hungarian zoologists