August Dehnel

August Gustav Dehnel ( born June 25, 1903 in Warsaw, † November 22, 1962 ) was a Polish zoologist. According to him, the " Dehnel effect" (English: Dehnel 's phenomenon ) was named.

Life

August Gustav Dehnel was a son of the physicist Michał Dehnel († December 30, 1924 ) and his wife Maria Sliwicka. In 1922 he began studying at the University of Warsaw and in 1926 received his doctorate of philosophy.

After the invasion of Poland in 1939 Dehnel was drafted as a second lieutenant and fell into German captivity. In the prison camp Groß Born he gave lectures on biology and organized courses. He belonged to a small circle of advisers of the Polish camp commander.

In May 1946, he returned from captivity and began to work in Lublin at the National Zoological Museum. A year later he came to the Maria Curie - Skłodowska University in Lublin. Here he began his research series, which led to the discovery of the phenomenon of seasonal change in the size of the cranium in shrews. This discovery, which he published in 1949, was described first in 1958 by Hans Barth schools as " Dehnel 's phenomenon".

Later Dehnel was associate professor at the University of Warsaw. He was member of scientific academies and participated in many international conferences.

August Dehnel was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Poland Reborn.