Jan Roubal (16 August 1880 in

Chudenice Chudenice () is a market town in Klatovy District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 800 inhabitants. Administrative division Chudenice consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): ...

– 23 October 1971 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

) was a pioneer Czech entomologist who specialized in the systematics of beetles, especially the

Staphylinidae The rove beetles are a family (biology), family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With over 66,000 species in thousand ...

, and is best known for his three-volume Catalogue of Coleoptera in Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia, published from 1930 to 1941. Roubal was born in

to Jakub Roubal and Marie née Kašparovová. He graduated from the

Klatovy Klatovy (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zone. Administr ...

Gymnasium and graduated with studies in natural sciences at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

, Prague before teaching in schools from 1905 to 1919 at

Příbram Příbram (; or ''Przibram'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It is known for its mining history, and more recently, its new venture into economic restructuring. The town is the t ...

and then becoming a headmaster at a girls' school in

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

where he stayed until 1938. In his spare time, he made trips and collected beetles from the region which were estimated to number 160,000 specimens. His entomological work intensified after he retired in 1940. Roubal was also involved in conservation. Towards the end of his life he began to study Heteroptera. His specimens are now housed in the Slovenské národné múzeum, Bratislava.

References

External links

Biography (in Czech)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roubal, Jan 1880 births 1971 deaths Czech entomologists People from Klatovy District Charles University alumni Coleopterists