Joseph Partsch (4 July 1851 – 22 June 1925) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

, born at Schreiberhau,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

Biography

He studied at the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1874, and began teaching at the university (privat-docent, 1875), becoming later a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of geography. Here he remained until 1905, when on the death of

Friedrich Ratzel Friedrich Ratzel (August 30, 1844 – August 9, 1904) was a German geographer and ethnographer, notable for first using the term ''Lebensraum'' ("living space") in the sense that the National Socialists later would. Life Ratzel's father was th ...

, he was called to the chair of geography at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

. Here, he served as a full professor of geography up until 1922. He died in Bad Brambach,

Vogtland Vogtland (; cz, Fojtsko) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former ...

on June 22, 1925.Professorenkatalog der Universität Leipzig
Biographical sketch

Contributions

His earlier writings were devoted to

classical geography ;Pre-Hellenistic Classical Greece *Homer * Anaximander * Hecataeus of Miletus * Massaliote Periplus * Scylax of Caryanda (6th century BC) *Herodotus ;Hellenistic period * Pytheas (died c. 310 BC) *''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' (3rd or 4th centur ...

, but in later years he wrote extensively on

glacial geology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, clima ...

, the

history of geography The history of geography includes many histories of geography which have differed over time and between different cultural and political groups. In more recent developments, geography has become a distinct academic discipline. 'Geography' derive ...

, and regional geography. In the last group are some of his best-known works, such as the systemic monographs on the Ionian Islands, the standard geography of central

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and the geography of Silesia. Among English-speaking people he is best known as the author of "Central Europe" (English, 1903; German, 1904), the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

edition, prepared by H. J. Mackinder, appearing in the series "The Regions of the World." This book was of particular value for its account of the

physiography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

of the region which became the battle ground of Europe (1914, et seq.) and especially of the last chapter, "The Conditions of National Defense".

Partial bibliography

* ''Physikalische Geographie von Griechenland, mit besonderer Rücksicht auf das Alterthum'', Breslau 1885 – Physical Geography of Greece: With special regard to its antiquity. * ''Philipp Clüver, der Begründer der historischen Länderkunde. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der geographischen Wissenschaft'', Wien 1891 – Philipp Clüver, the founder of historical geography. * ''Schlesien. Eine Landeskunde für das deutsche Volk auf wissenschaftlicher Grundlage'', Breslau 1896 – Silesia: a geography for the German people. * ''Mitteleuropa. Die Länder und Völker von den Westalpen und dem Balkan bis an den Kanal und das Kurische Haff'',

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...

1904 –

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

: the countries and peoples of the

Western Alps The Western Alps are the western part of the Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzerland ( ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, etc. * ''Die Hohe Tatra zur Eiszeit'', Leipzig 1923 – The

High Tatras The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains ( Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; pl, Tatry Wysokie; rue, Высокі Татри,'' Vysoki Tatry''; hu, Magas-Tátra; german: Hohe Tatra; french: Hautes Tatras), are a mountain range along the border of norther ...

of the Ice Age.

References

External links

* German geographers German male writers University of Breslau faculty Leipzig University faculty University of Breslau alumni People from the Province of Silesia People from Karkonosze County 1851 births 1925 deaths {{Germany-academic-bio-stub