author

Wilhelm Weltner

1854–1917

Drawn from the world of 19th-century natural science, this German zoologist spent decades studying freshwater sponges, coelenterates, and barnacles while building museum collections in Berlin. His work combined careful field observation with the patient cataloging that helped shape modern zoology.

1 Audiobook

Die Tier- und Pflanzenwelt des Süsswassers. Erster Band.

Die Tier- und Pflanzenwelt des Süsswassers. Erster Band.

by F. A. (François Alphonse) Forel, August Gruber, Friedrich Ludwig, W. (Walter) Migula, Ludwig Plate, Julius Vosseler, Wilhelm Weltner

About the author

Born in Römnitz on October 26, 1854, he first trained in chemistry in Wiesbaden before turning to zoology during his studies in Strasbourg. He worked there as an assistant under Oskar Schmidt and earned his doctorate in Freiburg in 1882 with a dissertation on sponges.

After further study in Leipzig, Greifswald, and Berlin, he joined the Zoological Museum in Berlin in 1885, becoming curator in 1892 and professor in 1902. He specialized especially in sponges, coelenterates, and barnacles, and also studied the fauna of places such as Tegeler See, Helgoland, Rovinj, and the Madüsee near Stettin.

He also worked on material from major expeditions and served as editor of Archiv für Naturgeschichte from 1904 to 1910. Wilhelm Weltner died in Berlin on April 11, 1917, after a long museum career that colleagues later remembered with great respect.