Hermann Strebel (malacologist)
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Hermann Wilhelm Strebel ( Hamburg, 1 January 1834 – Hamburg, 6 November 1914) was a merchant,
ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...
and a
malacologist Malacology, from Ancient Greek μαλακός (''malakós''), meaning "soft", and λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (molluscs or mollusks), the second-largest ...
from Germany and Mexico.


Biography

He was born on 1 January 1834 in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
as the youngest of four brothers. Through his school teacher he became interested in the study of snails and their shells On 13 August 1848, he left for
Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
in Mexico. Under the supervision of his eldest brother he became an apprentice in a factory. He would stay in Mexico for the next twenty years. He survived a shipwreck off the coast of
Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...
. Between 1852 and 1867 he worked as a merchant for German exporters of manufactured goods. During this time he began under the guidance of his friend Carl Hermann Berendt collecting shells of native snails, which would constitute the basis of his collection. At this time, he began a lively exchange with German and American
malacologist Malacology, from Ancient Greek μαλακός (''malakós''), meaning "soft", and λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (molluscs or mollusks), the second-largest ...
s. He was also introduced by Berendt to
zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
and
archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...
In 1860 he married Inés Mahn, a merchant's daughter, born in Mexico. In 1861, his first son Richard Strebel was born. In 1867 the family, now consisting of five members, moved to Hamburg. Between 1867 and 1899 Strebel led his business in foreign lumber. During this time he began to exercise his scientific researches with all the activity of his nature. At first he turned his attention to working out his zoological collections. Through contact with other German malacologists he published from 1873 to 1882 his first scientific papers on the Mexican land and freshwater molluscs. His book on the fauna of Mexico was published in 1882, after six years' work and was acclaimed as one of the best and most detailed faunistic monographs of the subject. It provided him the respect of all contemporary authorities as a great scholar. After the publication of this book, he turned his attention to Mexican archeology. He asked a befriended family in Mexico to perform archaeological excavations at various locations The results became his scientific collection in Hamburg. To finance further excavation activities, he sold some excavation finds to the Museum of Ethnology in Berlin, the Hamburg Senate and to the city of
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
. His writings on this subject are comprised in ten treatises, of which two volumes on Old Mexico and some more recent studies of ornaments and earthen vessels. From 1899 on, he worked scientifically at the malacology department of the . Hermann Strebel received in 1906 the
Loubat Prize The Loubat Prize was a pair of prizes awarded by Columbia University every five years between 1898 and 1958 for the best social science works in the English language about North America. The awards were established and endowed by Joseph Florimon ...
of the Royal
Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences () was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when Frenc ...
, Berlin. In 1904, he was honored with an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the
University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...
. He also received diplomas and congratulations from a large number of learned societies from Germany and abroad. In 1914 he was promoted to professor by the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg. Hermann Strebel died on November 6, 1914, in Hamburg.The seventieth birthday of Hermann Strebel (Jan. 1st, 1904),in: Journal of conchology, 11 (2), London 1904, p. 58 - 60
/ref> The
World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
contains a species named by Strebel: ''Bela notophila'' Strebel, 1908 that has become a synonym of '' Strebela notophila'' (Strebel, 1908) and also contains 26 records of marine species with the epithet "strebeli". The gastropod genus '' Strebela'' Kantor & Harasewych, 2013 was named after him.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strebel, Hermann German malacologists 1834 births 1914 deaths German expatriates in Mexico