Biographical entry
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Bright Sparcs
Biographical entry
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Finsch, Otto (1839 - 1917) |
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| Ornithologist and Ethnologist | |
| Born: 8 August 1839 Warmbrunn, Germany. Died: 31 January 1917 Braunschweig, Germany. | |
| Otto Finsch joined the Museum of Natural History in Leiden, Holland to pursue his love of ornithology. His interests broadened to ethnology when in 1864 he joined Bremen’s Museum of Natural History and Ethnography. He remained at that museum for over 10 years becoming its director in 1876. Finsch’s first exploration to the Pacific was in 1879 and was funded by the Humboldt Foundation. His second trip was in 1884 and was not for scientific exploration, but for finding land suitable for habitation. This trip was organised by the South Sea Plotters – a group of influential Germans wanting to set up German colonies in the Pacific – of which Finsch was a member. Finsch returned to Germany and ethnological studies in the late 1880s. He was a division head at the Museum of Natural History in Leiden, then at the Municipal Museum in Braunschweig, Germany. Otto Finsch built up a large collection of material from the Pacific especially primitive money and was appointed professor by the duke of Braunschweig. |
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Chronology
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Published by The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre on ASAPWeb, 1994 - 2007 Originally published 1994-1999 by Australian Science Archives Project, 1999-2006 by the Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre Disclaimer, Copyright and Privacy Policy Submit any comments, questions, corrections and additions Prepared by: Acknowledgements Updated: 26 February 2007 http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P000046b.htm |