Karl Robert Osten-Sacken
Encyclopedia
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and entomologist. He served as the Russian consul general in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, living in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1856 to 1877.
He developed an early interest in entomology specialising in Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
and especially the Tipulidae. In 1862 Osten-Sacken published, with assistance from Hermann Loew
Hermann Loew
Friedrich Hermann Loew was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges...
, “Catalogue of the described Diptera of North America” in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections Vol. 3. A later edition of this work appeared in 1878, as Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections no. 270. He published many other papers. His work on the Tipulidae included a classification of the family. He also studied insect galls and worked on the Tabanidae. Osten-Sacken corresponded with Hermann Loew, supplying him with specimens, and translated and published Loew's work in the 'Monographs of the Diptera of North America', (1862-1873), Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Nos 6, 171, 219 and 256.
Asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
335 Roberta
335 Roberta
335 Roberta is a large Main belt asteroid. It is classified as an F-type asteroid.It was discovered by Anton Staus on September 1, 1892 in Heidelberg. It was his only asteroid discovery....
is named in his honour.