August von Jilek
Encyclopedia
August von Jilek otherwise August Jilek or Jileck, was a Czech naval doctor, lecturer and administrator. He was born at Litomyšl
in Bohemia
, now in the Czech Republic
, where the Jilek surname can be traced back to the 15th century. He studied medicine
at Vienna
and after qualifying as a doctor he joined the Austrian Imperial-Royal Navy
on 23 October 1845.
Nothing is known about Jilek’s early years in the Navy. He first came to prominence when he was chosen to fill the post of personal physician to the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian
(1832–1867). The occasion may have been Maximilian’s entry into the Navy and service aboard SMS Novara
in 1851.
In October 1852 Jilek was appointed senior doctor at the newly designated Naval Academy (former Cadet College) at Pola
in Istria
, now part of Croatia
, where he also lectured on oceanography
. In March 1856 the Archduke Maximilian, by then Commander in Chief of the Navy, laid the foundation stones for a new Arsenal
and a new Academy building, and in July 1857 Jilek completed the textbook on oceanography
for Academy students for which he is best known today.
Jilek was not an original scientist in this field. He was probably commissioned by the Archduke to prepare a survey of the newly emerging science and that is what, within his limitations, he achieved. Much of the book is given over to general geographical descriptions of the world’s oceans, for which Jilek may have drawn on versions of Kant
’s unpublished lectures on geography
that were produced in the early 19th century. Another source was certainly Eduard Bobrik’s multi-volume manual of seamanship
, navigation
and oceanography – the first book to use that word in its title. In 1848 the second, revised edition of Bobrik’s manual had included sections on oceanography
, hydrography
, ‘aerography’ and magnetism
. But time and again when Jilek addressed the major physical processes which govern the oceans, the true subject of oceanography, he was obliged to declare that no one yet understood them. However he made a reasonable job of explaining the methods and preliminary results that had recently been presented by Matthew Fontaine Maury
in his Wind and Current Charts, and had then been enlarged upon in Maury’s masterpiece The Physical Geography of the Sea, first translated into German in 1856.
Evidence for the diffusion of Maury’s ideas in the Austrian Navy after this point can be found in the narrative of the Novara’s circumnavigation
(1857–1859), and in a more lucid exposition of them which was published at Pola
in 1867. Notwithstanding the latter, Jilek’s textbook probably remained in use at the Academy for about twenty years.
Jilek’s unassuming guide was only the second German book, and perhaps the second in the world, to have the word ‘oceanography’ in its title. It is now extremely rare. None of the great national libraries of Europe
or North America
seems to have a copy, not even the Austrian National Library
. Examples can be consulted at Barcelona
, Chicago
, Frankfurt
and Kiel
, and presumably several naval training colleges, maritime museums and institutes of oceanography also have copies. The one shown on this page formerly belonged to Lieutenant Ludwig von Czirer, a Hungarian who joined the Imperial-Royal Navy as a cadet in 1872.
On 4 October 1863 Jilek was transferred to administrative duties in the Ministry (later Department) of the Navy, where he became director of the medical branch (1871) and rose to the rank of Admiral (1 November 1888) before retiring in March 1894.
Jilek’s achievements in naval medicine included the publication of two studies of malaria
, a disease which was endemic to Istria, and in 1868 he wrote a report on gastroenteritis
which may have been an internal Navy Department document. He oversaw the introduction of Listerian
antisepsis and the professionalization of the service, that is, the replacement of the earlier ship’s surgeons, often little more than medical orderlies, with fully qualified doctors.
Jilek’s regular duties were partly or completely interrupted when he accompanied the Archduke on board SMS Novara for a botanical cruise to Brazil
in 1860, then joined his household at the palace of Miramare
outside Trieste
, 130 km from Pola, and finally when he escorted his patron, now Emperor Maximilian I, to Mexico
in 1864. Maximilian appointed two subsequent personal physicians during his brief reign in Mexico. Since Jilek had not left the service of Austria it is reasonable to assume that he returned directly from Vera Cruz
with the Novara.
There is no evidence that Jilek married or had children, or that he did not. He died at Trieste
on 8 November 1898.
As a result of Jilek’s trip to Brazil a species of passion flower
, Passiflora jilekii Wawra, was named after him in 1863. He was knighted (Iron Cross
) in 1867, but whether before or after Maximilian’s execution on 19 June of that year is not known.
Litomyšl
Litomyšl is a town and municipality in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. The chateau complex in the town centre is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-History:...
in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, now in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, where the Jilek surname can be traced back to the 15th century. He studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and after qualifying as a doctor he joined the Austrian Imperial-Royal Navy
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....
on 23 October 1845.
Nothing is known about Jilek’s early years in the Navy. He first came to prominence when he was chosen to fill the post of personal physician to the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
(1832–1867). The occasion may have been Maximilian’s entry into the Navy and service aboard SMS Novara
SMS Novara (1850)
SMS Novara was a sail frigate of the Austro-Hungarian Navy most noted for sailing the globe for the Novara Expedition of 1857–1859 and, later for carrying Archduke Maximilian and wife Carlota to Vera Cruz in May 1864 to become Emperor and Empress of Mexico.-Service :The SMS Novara was a frigate...
in 1851.
In October 1852 Jilek was appointed senior doctor at the newly designated Naval Academy (former Cadet College) at Pola
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
in Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
, now part of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, where he also lectured on oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
. In March 1856 the Archduke Maximilian, by then Commander in Chief of the Navy, laid the foundation stones for a new Arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
and a new Academy building, and in July 1857 Jilek completed the textbook on oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
for Academy students for which he is best known today.
Jilek was not an original scientist in this field. He was probably commissioned by the Archduke to prepare a survey of the newly emerging science and that is what, within his limitations, he achieved. Much of the book is given over to general geographical descriptions of the world’s oceans, for which Jilek may have drawn on versions of Kant
KANT
KANT is a computer algebra system for mathematicians interested in algebraic number theory, performing sophisticated computations in algebraic number fields, in global function fields, and in local fields. KASH is the associated command line interface...
’s unpublished lectures on geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
that were produced in the early 19th century. Another source was certainly Eduard Bobrik’s multi-volume manual of seamanship
Seamanship
Seamanship is the art of operating a ship or boat.It involves a knowledge of a variety of topics and development of specialised skills including: navigation and international maritime law; weather, meteorology and forecasting; watchstanding; ship-handling and small boat handling; operation of deck...
, navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
and oceanography – the first book to use that word in its title. In 1848 the second, revised edition of Bobrik’s manual had included sections on oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
, hydrography
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
, ‘aerography’ and magnetism
Magnetism
Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
. But time and again when Jilek addressed the major physical processes which govern the oceans, the true subject of oceanography, he was obliged to declare that no one yet understood them. However he made a reasonable job of explaining the methods and preliminary results that had recently been presented by Matthew Fontaine Maury
Matthew Fontaine Maury
Matthew Fontaine Maury , United States Navy was an American astronomer, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, and educator....
in his Wind and Current Charts, and had then been enlarged upon in Maury’s masterpiece The Physical Geography of the Sea, first translated into German in 1856.
Evidence for the diffusion of Maury’s ideas in the Austrian Navy after this point can be found in the narrative of the Novara’s circumnavigation
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
(1857–1859), and in a more lucid exposition of them which was published at Pola
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
in 1867. Notwithstanding the latter, Jilek’s textbook probably remained in use at the Academy for about twenty years.
Jilek’s unassuming guide was only the second German book, and perhaps the second in the world, to have the word ‘oceanography’ in its title. It is now extremely rare. None of the great national libraries of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
or North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
seems to have a copy, not even the Austrian National Library
Austrian National Library
The Austrian National Library , is the largest library in Austria, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary...
. Examples can be consulted at Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, and presumably several naval training colleges, maritime museums and institutes of oceanography also have copies. The one shown on this page formerly belonged to Lieutenant Ludwig von Czirer, a Hungarian who joined the Imperial-Royal Navy as a cadet in 1872.
On 4 October 1863 Jilek was transferred to administrative duties in the Ministry (later Department) of the Navy, where he became director of the medical branch (1871) and rose to the rank of Admiral (1 November 1888) before retiring in March 1894.
Jilek’s achievements in naval medicine included the publication of two studies of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, a disease which was endemic to Istria, and in 1868 he wrote a report on gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis is marked by severe inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract involving both the stomach and small intestine resulting in acute diarrhea and vomiting. It can be transferred by contact with contaminated food and water...
which may have been an internal Navy Department document. He oversaw the introduction of Listerian
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary...
antisepsis and the professionalization of the service, that is, the replacement of the earlier ship’s surgeons, often little more than medical orderlies, with fully qualified doctors.
Jilek’s regular duties were partly or completely interrupted when he accompanied the Archduke on board SMS Novara for a botanical cruise to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
in 1860, then joined his household at the palace of Miramare
Miramare
The Miramare Castle is a 19th century castle on the Gulf of Trieste near Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Carlota of Mexico, to a design by Carl...
outside Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, 130 km from Pola, and finally when he escorted his patron, now Emperor Maximilian I, to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in 1864. Maximilian appointed two subsequent personal physicians during his brief reign in Mexico. Since Jilek had not left the service of Austria it is reasonable to assume that he returned directly from Vera Cruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
with the Novara.
There is no evidence that Jilek married or had children, or that he did not. He died at Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
on 8 November 1898.
As a result of Jilek’s trip to Brazil a species of passion flower
Passion flower
Passiflora, known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 500 species of flowering plants, the namesakes of the family Passifloraceae. They are mostly vines, with some being shrubs, and a few species being herbaceous. For information about the fruit of the passiflora...
, Passiflora jilekii Wawra, was named after him in 1863. He was knighted (Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
) in 1867, but whether before or after Maximilian’s execution on 19 June of that year is not known.