Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff
Encyclopedia
Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff (1867–1945) was a German
zoologist, specialising in millipede
s and centipede
s (Myriapoda
), as well as woodlice
(Isopoda
) and to a lesser extent insect
s.
in Westfalia, the son of the apothecary Karl M. Verhoeff and his wife Mathilde (born Rocholl). He completed his Abitur
examination in Soerst in 1889 and completed his doctoral thesis in zoology in Bonn in 1893. In 1902 he married Marie Kringer, who died in 1937 during surgery. The marriage produced three children, two daughters and a son, the son dying in 1942 on the Russian front
.
He was briefly employed (1900-1905) at the in Berlin
, but for the remainder of his long career, he worked privately. Verhoeff undertook a number of collecting trips, including visits to the French Riviera, and Romania and Bulgaria down through Bosnia and into Greece. Some of these trips were financed by the Prussian Academy of Science. He financed himself partly by selling his collections, with Munich and Berlin holding large amounts of his material.
Verhoeff received a number of awards towards the end of his life, including the silver of the Prussian Academy of Science (1933), the of the August Forel foundation (1942) and a from the University of Bonn on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his thesis (1943). In 1942, shortly before his 75th birthday, he was elected to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Problems with his sight and the destruction of his home in a bombing raid meant that he could no longer carry out research and he committed suicide
on December 6, 1945.
and Carl Attems
– one of the most prolific authors of myriapod taxa. The 1962 compilation of Gisela Mauermayer records 670 scientific works by Verhoeff, including major contributions to the series .
The standard author abbreviation "Verhoeff" is used to indicate Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff as the author when citing
a botanical name
.
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...
zoologist, specialising in millipede
Millipede
Millipedes are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment . Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one...
s and centipede
Centipede
Centipedes are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of...
s (Myriapoda
Myriapoda
Myriapoda is a subphylum of arthropods containing millipedes, centipedes, and others. The group contains 13,000 species, all of which are terrestrial...
), as well as woodlice
Woodlouse
A woodlouse is a crustacean with a rigid, segmented, long exoskeleton and fourteen jointed limbs...
(Isopoda
Isopoda
Isopods are an order of peracarid crustaceans, including familiar animals such as woodlice and pill bugs. The name Isopoda derives from the Greek roots and...
) and to a lesser extent insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s.
Biography
Karl W. Verhoeff was born on November 25, 1867 in SoestSoest, Germany
Soest is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Soest district. After Lippstadt, a neighbouring town, Soest is the second biggest town in its district.-Geography:...
in Westfalia, the son of the apothecary Karl M. Verhoeff and his wife Mathilde (born Rocholl). He completed his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
examination in Soerst in 1889 and completed his doctoral thesis in zoology in Bonn in 1893. In 1902 he married Marie Kringer, who died in 1937 during surgery. The marriage produced three children, two daughters and a son, the son dying in 1942 on the Russian front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
.
He was briefly employed (1900-1905) at the in 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...
, but for the remainder of his long career, he worked privately. Verhoeff undertook a number of collecting trips, including visits to the French Riviera, and Romania and Bulgaria down through Bosnia and into Greece. Some of these trips were financed by the Prussian Academy of Science. He financed himself partly by selling his collections, with Munich and Berlin holding large amounts of his material.
Verhoeff received a number of awards towards the end of his life, including the silver of the Prussian Academy of Science (1933), the of the August Forel foundation (1942) and a from the University of Bonn on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his thesis (1943). In 1942, shortly before his 75th birthday, he was elected to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Problems with his sight and the destruction of his home in a bombing raid meant that he could no longer carry out research and he committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
on December 6, 1945.
Taxonomy
Verhoeff was – alongside Ralph Vary ChamberlinRalph Vary Chamberlin
Ralph Vary Chamberlin was an American zoologist from Salt Lake City, Utah. He received his PhD from Cornell University in 1904. He was a professor of zoology at Brigham Young University from 1908-1911, and at the University of Utah from 1925-1938....
and Carl Attems
Carl Attems
Carl August Graf Attems-Petzenstein was a famous Austrian zoologist. He published 138 scientific papers, most of them dealing with his specialist field, the myriapoda. He described about 1800 new species and subspecies from all over the world.-Life:Count Attems was born in 1868 in Graz...
– one of the most prolific authors of myriapod taxa. The 1962 compilation of Gisela Mauermayer records 670 scientific works by Verhoeff, including major contributions to the series .
The standard author abbreviation "Verhoeff" is used to indicate Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff as the author when citing
Author citation (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
a botanical name
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
.