Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Emil Hans Willi Hennig (April 20, 1913 in Dürrhennersdorf/Oberlausitz – November 5, 1976 in Ludwigsburg) was a German biologist who is considered the founder of phylogenetic systematics, also known as cladistics. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Upper and Lower Lusatia Upper Lusatia ( Oberlausitz or Hornja Łužica) is today part of the German state of Saxony except for a small part east of Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ludwigsburg is a city in Germany, about 12 km (7 miles north of Stuttgart 's city center near the river Neckar. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as A biologist is a Scientist devoted to and producing results in Biology through the study of Organisms Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry With his works on evolution and systematics he revolutionised the view of the natural order of beings. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 Biological systematics is the study of the diversity of Life on the planet Earth both past and present and the relationships among living things through time As a taxonomist, he specialised in dipterans (ordinary flies and mosquitoes). True flies are Insects of the Order Diptera ( Greek: di = two and pteron = wing possessing a single pair of

Willi Hennig (1972)
Willi Hennig (1972)

Contents

Biography

Early years and studies

His mother Marie Emma, nee Groß (June 12, 1885 – August 3, 1965) worked as a maid and, later, factory worker. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. His father Karl Ernst Emil Hennig (August 28, 1873 – December 28, 1947) was a rail worker. Events 475 - The Roman General Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his Capital Year 1873 ( MDCCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Willi had two brothers, Fritz Rudolf (March 5, 1915 – November 24, 1990), who became a minister, and Karl Herbert (April 24, 1917 – 1943?), who went missing at Leningrad in 1943. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

In the spring of 1919, Willi Hennig started school in Dürrhennersdorf, and subsequently was at school in Taubenheim an der Spree and Oppach. Rudolf Hennig described the family as calm; his father possessed an even temperament.

As of 1927, Willi Hennig continued his education at the Realgymnasium and boarding school in Klotzsche near Dresden. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German Here he met his first mentor M. Rost. [1] Rost had an interest in insects and introduced Hennig to Wilhelm Meise, who worked as a scientist at the Dresdener Museum für Tierkunde (Zoological Museum Dresden). Wilhelm Meise (September 12 1901 - August 24, 2002) was a German ornithologist. In 1930, Hennig skipped a year, and graduated on February 26, 1932. Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. As early as 1931, Willi Hennig composed an essay entitled Die Stellung der Systematik in der Zoologie ("The state of systematics in zoology") as part of his school work, published posthumously in 1978. It showed his interest as well as his considered treatment of systematic problems. Besides school, Hennig worked as a volunteer at the museum and, in collaboration with Meise, saw to the systematic and biogeographical investigation of the "flying" snakes of the genus Dendrophis that became his first published work.

From the summer semester of 1932 onwards, Hennig read zoology, botany and geology at the University of Leipzig. He would continue to visit the Museum in Dresden. There, he met the curator of the entomological collection, the Dipteran expert Fritz Isidor van Emden. Hennig saw him regularly until van Emden was expelled from National Socialist Germany for having a Jewish wife.

Hennig, however, developed a deep friendship with Emden's successor, Klaus Günther. Hennig was able to conclude his studies with a dissertation entitled, Beiträge zur Kenntnis des Kopulationsapparates der cyclorrhaphen Dipteren. By this time, Hennig had published eight scientific papers. Besides his 300-page revision of the Tylidae (now classed as Micropezidae), there were further papers on Diptera and the agamid genus Draco of gliding lizards. The Micropezidae are a moderate-sized family of Acalyptrate muscoid flies in the insect order Diptera, comprising about 500 species in about 50 genera and 5 subfamilies Agamids, lizards of the family Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Draco is a genus of gliding agamid lizard from Southeast Asia After his studies, Hennig was Volontär at the State Museum for Zoology in Dresden. Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde Dresden is a Natural history museum that houses 10000-50000 specimens including skeletons and large insect collections On January 1, 1937, he obtained a scholarship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to work at the German Entomological Institute of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft in Berlin-Dahlem. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (abbreviated DFG, German Research Foundation in English) is an important German research funding organization The Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft is a German entity formally known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e This article refers to the neighborhood in Berlin For other places with the same name please see Dahlem (disambiguation. On May 13, 1939, Hennig married his former fellow student Irma Wehnert. Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. By 1945, they had three sons, Wolfgang (born 1941), Bernd (born 1943) and Gerd (born 1945).

As a military entomologist

Willi Hennig was drafted in 1938 to train for the infantry and concluded this course in 1939. As of the start of World War II, he was deployed in the infantry in Poland, France, Denmark and Russia. He was injured by grenade shrapnel in 1942 and was subsequently used as entomologist at the Institute for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in Berlin, carrying the title "Sonderführer Z". Just before the war ended, he was sent to Italy to the 10th Army, Heeresgruppe C, to fight malaria and other epidemic diseases. Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including At the end of the war in May 1945, he was captured by the British while he was with the Malaria training corps at the Gulf of Briest, and was only released in the autumn. Through his active participation in war as soldier and scientist Hennig was later subjected to accusations that he had been a member of the National Socialist party, especially by the Italian biologist and founder of panbiogeography, Leon Croizat. Leon Croizat (1894-1982 Italian biogeographer Life Leon Croizat Chaley was the son of French parents and was born in 1894 in Torino, Italy, where However, there is no evidence to support the claim. Hennig was never a member of the National Socialist party and did not support their views on any public occasion.

During his time as prisoner of war, Hennig began to draft his most important contribution to systematics, not published until 1950. The rough draft was composed with pencil and ballpoint pen into an A4 exercise book, spanning 170 pages. During the war, he also published a further 25 scientific papers. Most of the correspondence and literature research was conducted by his wife, Irma.

1950s: "Basic outline of a theory of phylogenetic systematics"

From December 1, 1945 to March 31, 1947, Willi Hennig stood in for his thesis supervisor Paul Buchner as assistant to Professor Friedrich Hempelmann at the University of Leipzig, giving lectures in general biology, zoology and special zoology of insects. Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He returned to the German Entomological Institute in Berlin on April 1, 1947, and gave up his position in Leipzig. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. From 1 November 1949 he led the section for systematic entomology and was second director of the institute. Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. On August 1, 1950, he habilitated in zoology at the Brandenburgische Landeshochschule in Potsdam. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Also see Potsdam New York (in the USA For the Potsdam Conference see Potsdam Conference. On October 10 of the same year, he was offered a professorship with teaching responsibilities, which he fulfilled lecturing on special zoology of invertebrates, systematic zoology and taxonomic practicals. Events 680 - Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated In the same year, he published his Basic outline of a theory of phylogenetic systematics, and further works on the methodology of phylogenetic systematics followed in the ensuing years, accompanied by numerous taxonomic works about Diptera. His two-volume Pocket book of zoology, in which he applied phylogenetic systematics to invertebrates for the first time, was particularly successful.

He continued working at the German Entomological Institute in the Soviet Sector of Berlin, Berlin-Friedrichshagen, all the while living in the American sector in Berlin-Steglitz. Steglitz is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in the south-west of Berlin, the capital of Germany. On a trip to France with his son on August 13, 1961, he heard of the impending Berlin Wall and returned to Berlin immediately to quit his appointment. Events 3114 BC - According to the Lounsbury correlation the start of the Maya calendar. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Moving to East Berlin was out of the question, as Hennig held anti-communist views and already had a troubled relationship with the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany, SED) that was the sole political party of East Germany, as Hennig had repeatedly helped employees of the institute gain employment in the West. The Socialist Unity Party of Germany ( German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, SED) was the governing party of the German Democratic

1961 to 1976

Willi Hennig (around 1970)
Willi Hennig (around 1970)

In West Berlin, Hennig was given an interim post at the Technische Universität Berlin as Distinguished Professor. He rejected offers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. and an offer made by his friend Elmo Hardy, to become a Research Fellow at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, citing as reasons that the education of his sons took priority for him, and that he needed to have the "cultural witnesses of the antique Greek-Roman Europe within ready access". Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The University of Hawaii, formally the University of Hawaii System and popularly known as UH, is a public co-educational college and university system that confers Honolulu is the Capital and most populous Census-designated place (CDP in the U He instead decided on a post at the State Museum for Natural Science in Stuttgart, where he was given a department for phylogenetic research. In April 1963, he moved to Ludwigsburg-Pflugfelden for this position. Ludwigsburg is a city in Germany, about 12 km (7 miles north of Stuttgart 's city center near the river Neckar. The scientific collections of the museum had been provisorily kept in Ludwigsburg and remained here until their re-housing at the new site of the museum at Stuttgart's Löwentor, in 1985.

Hennig's works in Stuttgart dealt almost exclusively with taxonomic revisions of Dipterans. For the Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, where he published the majority of his works, he completed 29 issues by the end of his life. Significant are the review articles published in Erwin Lindner's Flies of the Palaearctic Regions and the Handbuch der Zoologie. Erwin Lindner (1888–1988 was a German Entomologist mainly interested in Diptera. The cladistic methodology was also represented in several published works, foremost among them the article, Cladistic analysis or cladistic classification? A reply to Ernst Mayr (1974), intended as an internationally accessible reply to the criticism Ernst Mayr had made of Hennig's phylogenetic systematics. Ernst Walter Mayr ( July 5, 1904, Kempten, Germany &ndash February 3, 2005, Bedford Massachusetts U

Willi Hennig only visited international institutions abroad twice, in spite of receiving many invitations for guest lectures. From September 1 to November 30, 1967, he worked at the Entomology Research Institute at Canada's Department of Agriculture in Ottawa and participated in the International Congress of Entomology in Canberra from August 22 to 30, 1972. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Ottawa (ˈɒtəwə or sometimes /ˈɒtəwɑː/ is the Capital of Canada and the country's fourth largest municipality. Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. Events 392 - Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. With his wife, he also visited Bangkok, New Guinea (where much of Mayr's understanding of bird taxonomy originated) and Singapore on this latter trip. His stay in Canada was also used for visits to various entomological collections in museums of the US, including Cambridge, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New York, always in the hope of finding further amber inclusions of Dipterans, that featured prominently in his research of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Cambridge Massachusetts is a City in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The City of New York On the initiative of Klaus Günther, who by then held a chair at the Freie Universität Berlin, Hennig was given an honorary doctorate on December 4, 1968; for health reasons, he could not accept this honour in person, and it was presented to him by Günther on March 21, 1969 in Stuttgart. The Free University of Berlin ( FU Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin is the second largest of the four Universities in Berlin. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. On the initiative of students whom he had lectured on several animal taxa, Hennig was made an honorary professor at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen on February 27, 1970. Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen ( German: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, sometimes called the "Eberhardina Carolina" is a public university Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

In the night of November 5, 1976, Hennig died of a heart attack. Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply He had previously repeatedly cancelled lectures with reference to his fading health, and had already had an attack on his journey to Ottawa. He was interred on November 10 at the Bergfriedhof in Tübingen. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Tübingen, a traditional University town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is situated 30 km (19 miles southwest of Stuttgart, on a ridge between

Selected works

Notes

  1. ^ Rudolf Meier. Role of Dipterology in Phylogenetic Systematics: The Insight of Willi Hennig in David K. Yeates and Brian M. Wiegmann (Eds) 2005. The evolutionary biology of flies. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12700-6

References

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic