Richard Hanitsch
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Karl Richard Hanitsch (22 December 1860 – 11 August 1940) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
-born
entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
and museum
curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
who served as the director of the Raffles Museum in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
in the early 20th century. Hanitsch was born at Grossenstein in
Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...
, Germany where his father Victor was a schoolmaster. He studied at the
University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...
, where he obtained his
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
. From 1887 to 1895 he was employed as a demonstrator of
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 ...
at University College, Liverpool. He married Ethel Vernon in 1892, with whom he had two sons and three daughters. From 1895 to 1907 he was Curator (the previous curator of the museum, William Ruxton Davison died in 1893) and Librarian of the Raffles Library and Museum, becoming in 1908 the first Director of the museum, a position he held until 1919. He was especially successful at building up the library collection there. He also served as the Honorary Treasurer of the Straits Branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...
. Although Hanitsch’s principal research interest lay in entomology, particularly the roaches, he also worked on
sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...
s,
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s,
amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...
s, and
mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s. He made trips to collect in the region including one to
Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
with Henry Ridley in 1904. As curator of the Raffles Museum he also examined artefacts such as coins that came into the museum. He retired on 7 July 1919 and returned to England. His successor as Director was Major John Moulton. After retirement he regularly visited the entomology department at Oxford right until his death. Hanitsch is commemorated in a number of taxa including a snake, '' Oreocalamus hanitschi'', a frog ''
Ansonia hanitschi ''Ansonia hanitschi'' (common name: Kadamaian stream toad) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to mountains of Borneo and found in both Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah) and Indonesia (northern Kalimantan). Its natural habitat ...
'', five species of cockroach: '' Ancaudellia hanitschi'', '' Ctenoneura hanitschi'', '' Deropeltis hanitschi'', '' Ectoneura hanitschi'', '' Gyna hanitschi'', a genus of cockroaches '' Hanitschia'', a fossil gastropod '' Gervillia hanitschi'', and a sponge ''Myxodoryx hanitschi''. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Hanitsch", p. 115). A 1978 postal stamp from Christmas Island commemorates him in a series on "famous visitors".


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Karl Richard Hanitsch by Sitragandi Arunasalam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanitsch, Richard 1860 births 1940 deaths German entomologists German curators Museum directors