Bernhard Hantzsch
Encyclopedia
Bernhard Adolph Hantzsch (12 January 1875 – June 1911) was a German ornithologist
, Arctic researcher, and writer, notable for his discovery of two Icelandic bird subspecies. Hantzsch was the first white man
to cross Baffin Island
.
, Germany
the youngest son of the school master and researcher Adolf Hantzsch (1841–1920) and his wife Emma Jencke (1842–1889), niece of Johann Friedrich Jencke (1812–1893), the founder of the Dresden Institute, the first deaf institution. Hantzsch's siblings include the geographer
and historian Viktor Hantzsch (1868–1910), the builder Hermann Hantzsch (1870–1945), and the clergyman Paul Kleinert
's wife, Bertha Kleinert (1873–1924).
He was baptised on 8 February 1875 by the deacon
, Dr. Frommhold from Dresden's Anne Church (Annenkirche). During the period of 1881 to 1889, he attended the second public school in Dresden.
At an early age, Hantzsch spent time in Tharandt Forest
for health reasons. He later became an assistant teacher
in Grillenberg, a village within the forest, giving him the opportunity to study bird life and developing an ornithological career.
While having little inclination to foreign languages in his early years, he later became fluent in Croatian, English, Danish, and Inuit.
, he was able to continue his bird studies but in more varied terrain. In 1897, Hantzsch published his first scientific paper
. Like all his future contributions, it was written in German language
, and thus unavailable or overlooked by many ornithologists until recent years.
Beginning in 1898, he made trips to Slavonia
to study wader
s and waterfowl
, and to Bulgaria
in 1901. With the connections he received there, Hantzsch was able to study birds of prey
in the Rhodope Mountains
and the Balkans
.
After developing a "Check-List of the Birds of the Kingdom of Saxony
, Hantzsch explored Iceland
, he left for Iceland to study its birds during the period of 21 April-8 September 1903. There, he developed a scientific systematization of Icelandic birds. He is credited for the discovery of the subspecies
Acanthis Linaria islandica in 1904, and Corvus corax islandicus in 1906. He developed two avifaunal lists of important regions in Europe, such as his 1905 Contribution to Knowledge of the Avifauna of Iceland.
In 1906, Hantzsch conducted research in Canada on the avifauna of the northeastern Labrador Peninsula
, working in Killinek (Port Burwell)
for several months, and then proceeding southward. He published Contribution to Knowledge of the Avifauna of Labrador in 1908. He also did research on egg shells. Hantzsch's research was not restricted to ornithology, and he published Contribution to Knowledge of Northeastern Labrador in 1909.
Having secured almost 15,000 marks from the Society of Friends of Nature
Institution of Berlin
, the Rudolf Virchow
Foundation of Berlin, and King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
, Hantzsch was prepared to spend three years on Baffin Island. According to The New York Times
, this trip aroused keen interest in the scientific community
. He set off in 1909, and encountered disaster when his ship, the Janthina Agatha, hit ice in Cumberland Sound
and sank, losing most of its cargo. Hantzsch and the entire crew found refuge on Blacklead Island
. With the assistance of some Inuit
, he hauled a boat to Nettilling Lake
, reaching it June of the following year. They reached Kokdjuak River at the end of August, and Foxe Channel
at the end of September, becoming the first Europe
an to cross Baffin Island.
, Hantzsch died of trichinosis
on Baffin Island in 1911. His Inuit
companions buried him on the shores of Foxe Basin
.
Hantzsch's Baffin Island zoological collections are located at the Royal Zoological Museum of Berlin. His Saxon ornithology collection and Labrador zoological-anthropological collections are located at the Zoological Anthropological Museum of Dresden. The Slavonian egg collection is located at the Dresden Heimatkundliche Schulmuseum.
Hantzsch Island
, on the southern tip of Baffin Island, and Hantzsch River on Baffin Island are named in his honor.
Dresden's Hantzschstraße is named after Hantzsch and his brother Viktor.
Hantzsch was an influence on the British Arctic explorer Pen Hadow
, who, after finding and reading a copy of Hantzsch's translated diaries in the Royal Geographical Society
library, decided to complete Hantzsch's trip.
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
, Arctic researcher, and writer, notable for his discovery of two Icelandic bird subspecies. Hantzsch was the first white man
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
to cross Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
.
Early life
Hantzsch was born in DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
the youngest son of the school master and researcher Adolf Hantzsch (1841–1920) and his wife Emma Jencke (1842–1889), niece of Johann Friedrich Jencke (1812–1893), the founder of the Dresden Institute, the first deaf institution. Hantzsch's siblings include the geographer
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...
and historian Viktor Hantzsch (1868–1910), the builder Hermann Hantzsch (1870–1945), and the clergyman Paul Kleinert
Paul Kleinert
Paul Kleinert was a German theologian, born at Vielguth in Prussian Silesia. From 1854 to 1857 he studied at the universities of Breslau and Halle. He taught school in Oppeln and Berlin, Germany, becoming professor at the University of Berlin in 1868. In 1885-1886 he was rector at the University...
's wife, Bertha Kleinert (1873–1924).
He was baptised on 8 February 1875 by the deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
, Dr. Frommhold from Dresden's Anne Church (Annenkirche). During the period of 1881 to 1889, he attended the second public school in Dresden.
At an early age, Hantzsch spent time in Tharandt Forest
Tharandt Forest
The Tharandt Forest is a landscape in the centre of the German Free State of Saxony and lies southwest of the forest town of Tharandt, south of the town of Wilsdruff, roughly between the cities of Freiberg and Dresden...
for health reasons. He later became an assistant teacher
Assistant teacher
Assistant teachers are additional teachers assisting a primary teacher, often in the same class room. An example for the use of assistant teachers is the German Assistant teacher programme of the Educational Exchange Service....
in Grillenberg, a village within the forest, giving him the opportunity to study bird life and developing an ornithological career.
While having little inclination to foreign languages in his early years, he later became fluent in Croatian, English, Danish, and Inuit.
Career
After receiving a position in 1897 at a public school in PlauenPlauen
Plauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
, he was able to continue his bird studies but in more varied terrain. In 1897, Hantzsch published his first scientific paper
Scientific literature
Scientific literature comprises scientific publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences, and within a scientific field is often abbreviated as the literature. Academic publishing is the process of placing the results of one's research into the...
. Like all his future contributions, it was written in German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and thus unavailable or overlooked by many ornithologists until recent years.
Beginning in 1898, he made trips to Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
to study wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s and waterfowl
Waterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
, and to Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
in 1901. With the connections he received there, Hantzsch was able to study birds of prey
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
in the Rhodope Mountains
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...
and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
.
After developing a "Check-List of the Birds of the Kingdom of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
, Hantzsch explored Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, he left for Iceland to study its birds during the period of 21 April-8 September 1903. There, he developed a scientific systematization of Icelandic birds. He is credited for the discovery of the subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
Acanthis Linaria islandica in 1904, and Corvus corax islandicus in 1906. He developed two avifaunal lists of important regions in Europe, such as his 1905 Contribution to Knowledge of the Avifauna of Iceland.
In 1906, Hantzsch conducted research in Canada on the avifauna of the northeastern Labrador Peninsula
Labrador Peninsula
The Labrador Peninsula is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the south-east...
, working in Killinek (Port Burwell)
Killiniq, Nunavut
Killiniq is a former Inuit settlement, weather station, trading post, missionary post, fishing station, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police post on Killiniq Island...
for several months, and then proceeding southward. He published Contribution to Knowledge of the Avifauna of Labrador in 1908. He also did research on egg shells. Hantzsch's research was not restricted to ornithology, and he published Contribution to Knowledge of Northeastern Labrador in 1909.
Having secured almost 15,000 marks from the Society of Friends of Nature
Friends of Nature
Friends of Nature is an international movement with a background in the Social Democratic movement, which aims to make nature accessible to the wider community by providing appropriate recreational and travel facilities.-Background:It is a non-profit organisation which, in addition to encouraging...
Institution of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the Rudolf Virchow
Rudolf Virchow
Rudolph Carl Virchow was a German doctor, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician, known for his advancement of public health...
Foundation of Berlin, and King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
This article is about King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony. For the elector Frederick Augustus III, see Frederick Augustus I of Saxony.Frederick Augustus III was the last King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin.Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the son of King George of Saxony...
, Hantzsch was prepared to spend three years on Baffin Island. According to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, this trip aroused keen interest in the scientific community
Scientific community
The scientific community consists of the total body of scientists, its relationships and interactions. It is normally divided into "sub-communities" each working on a particular field within science. Objectivity is expected to be achieved by the scientific method...
. He set off in 1909, and encountered disaster when his ship, the Janthina Agatha, hit ice in Cumberland Sound
Cumberland Sound
Cumberland Sound is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is a western arm of the Labrador Sea located between Baffin Island's Hall Peninsula and the Cumberland Peninsula...
and sank, losing most of its cargo. Hantzsch and the entire crew found refuge on Blacklead Island
Blacklead Island
Blacklead Island is a Baffin Island offshore islet located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in Nunavut's Qikiqtaaluk Region. It lies in Cumberland Sound, approximately from Harrison Point and from Niante Harbour.-History:...
. With the assistance of some Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
, he hauled a boat to Nettilling Lake
Nettilling Lake
Nettilling Lake [nech'iling] is a cold freshwater lake located toward the south end of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. It is also the world's largest lake on an island, with an area of 5,542 km2 and a maximum length of 123 km. The lake is in the Great Plain of the Koukdjuak about...
, reaching it June of the following year. They reached Kokdjuak River at the end of August, and Foxe Channel
Foxe Channel
The Foxe Channel is an area of sea in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It separates the Foxe Basin from Hudson Bay and the Hudson Strait . To the west and south-west is Southampton Island, to the east is Baffin Island, and to the north-west is the Melville Peninsula.The channel takes its name...
at the end of September, becoming the first 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...
an to cross Baffin Island.
Later years
Suffering from the hardship of his travels, and having eaten polar bearPolar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
, Hantzsch died of trichinosis
Trichinosis
Trichinosis, also called trichinellosis, or trichiniasis, is a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked pork or wild game infected with the larvae of a species of roundworm Trichinella spiralis, commonly called the trichina worm. There are eight Trichinella species; five are...
on Baffin Island in 1911. His Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
companions buried him on the shores of Foxe Basin
Foxe Basin
Not to be confused with Fox Bay, Falkland IslandsFoxe Basin is a shallow oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula...
.
Legacy
In 1913, his family established the Bernhard Hantzsch Foundation to assist North Polar region exploration.Hantzsch's Baffin Island zoological collections are located at the Royal Zoological Museum of Berlin. His Saxon ornithology collection and Labrador zoological-anthropological collections are located at the Zoological Anthropological Museum of Dresden. The Slavonian egg collection is located at the Dresden Heimatkundliche Schulmuseum.
Hantzsch Island
Hantzsch Island
Hantzsch Island is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Frobisher Bay off the southern tip of Baffin Island's Meta Incognita Peninsula and the northeastern tip of Edgell Island. The closet community is the Inuit hamlet of Sanikiluaq, to the west on...
, on the southern tip of Baffin Island, and Hantzsch River on Baffin Island are named in his honor.
Dresden's Hantzschstraße is named after Hantzsch and his brother Viktor.
Hantzsch was an influence on the British Arctic explorer Pen Hadow
Pen Hadow
Rupert Nigel Pendrill Hadow known as Pen Hadow, , is founding director of Geo Mission Ltd, an environmental sponsorship organisation, and British polar guide and explorer. He is the first person to trek solo and without resupply from the north coast of Canada to the North Pole...
, who, after finding and reading a copy of Hantzsch's translated diaries in the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
library, decided to complete Hantzsch's trip.
Partial bibliography
- (1913). Observations on the mammals of Baffin's Land. OCLC 70485001
- (1929). Contribution to the knowledge of the avifauna of North-Eastern Labrador. OCLC 31841174
- (1930). Southern Baffin Island: an account of exploration, investigation and settlement during the past fifty years. OCLC 3473816