Antonin Fritsch

Antonín Fric (often Anton Fritsch; * June 30, 1832 in Prague, † November 15, 1913 ) was a Czech zoologist, paleontologist and geologist who worked long in the field of ornithology, in later years, but the Ichthyology and Paleontology turned. For the development of the Bohemian museum work he contributed decisively.

Life

Fric came from a respected family in Prague. In 1852 he was a lecturer, associate professor in 1870 in Prague. From 1880 he was Professor of Zoology at the Prague Polytechnic.

Since the beginning of his academic career he had dealt with the bird world, starting with a collecting activity. 1852-1870 and 1898, he was then self-published the "Natural History of the Birds of Europe" out, which showed, among other things, 61 designed according to his designs color plates 708 pictures of European bird species in different clothes. In addition, in various journals published essays FRICS on the bird life of Bohemia, Croatia, Dalmatia and Montenegro. Particularly extensive is the summary of "The Birds of Bohemia ", which appeared 1871/1872 in the Journal of Ornithology and continued the Systematic Review of the birds of Bohemia by Anton Alois Palliardi. After 1880, only a few ornithological journals published since Fric stronger now turned paleontology in Bohemia and in the exploration of the recent fish. His concentration on certain work on the fossil fauna of the Cretaceous and the Permian corresponded to a division of labor among the former Czech geoscientists.

In parallel to his university activities, Antonín Fric operated in 1864 founded the Comité for scientific research by country of Bohemia, where he occasionally, with its chairman Karl Kořistka as secretary took a leading role. It was a connection to the company of the Patriotic Museum in Bohemia, in whose collections he served as curator of the zoological division since 1855. In 1880 he became head of the zoological and paleontological department in the Bohemian National Museum. Since the mid-1860s Antonín Fric examined the Cretaceous strata in Bohemia. His 1870 published paleontological studies of contributed to a better understanding about their stratigraphic organization decisively.

Together with Jan Krejčí he worked on the geological survey between Kutna Hora, Czech Trübau, from which in 1891 was the full explanation of the 6th part sheet of the Geological Map of Bohemia. Further mapping works focus on the areas between Teplice and Liberec, Eisenbrod and Jitschin and Braunau and Nachod.

His final resting place he found on the Olschaner cemeteries in Prague

Explanatory notes to the Geological map of Bohemia, Section VI, Jan Krejčí

Tomb of Antonín Fric