Fran Jesenko: Difference between revisions
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Fran Jesenko | |
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| Born | March 14, 1875 |
| Died | July 14, 1932 (aged 57) |
| Nationality | Slovene |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Known for | plant genetics, nature conservation efforts |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | botany, plant physiology, plant genetics |
| Institutions | Hochschüle für Bodenkultur University of Zagreb University of Ljubljana |
Fran Jesenko (1875–1932) was a botanist and plant geneticist from Slovenia, who became notable for his work on wheat-rye hybridisation.[1]
After high school which he attended in Ljubljana, Jesenko enrolled in the University of Vienna and graduated in 1902. During his study, he became a tutor to two Oriental princes at the Vienna's Teresianum college for boys, later also serving in this capacity for count Merveldt. His position gave him the opportunity to travel all across Europe and later to Egypt where he studied desert flora.[2][3] In 1909, he became a research assistant under Erich von Tschermak at the Hochschüle für Bodenkultur (now University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences) in Vienna, and a lecturer in 1913.
During his period in Vienna, Jesenko commenced several studies on plant hybridisation under von Tschermak's supervision, obtaining fertile hybrids between different varieties of wheat and rye with the help of backcrossing, and studying their characteristics with reference to Mendelian principles. He proposed that the reduced fertility of hybrids was a consequence of chromosomal incompatibility, as well as morphological differences. With this, he was one of the pioneers of studies on triticale.[1][4]
His work was interrupted by the World War I during which Jesenko was sent to the Eastern Front where he was injured and imprisoned. After the war, he returned to his homeland to become a lecturer at the University of Zagreb (Croatia), and a full professor in 1920. In the mean time, he worked on organizing a botanical institute in Ljubljana and in 1921 became the first professor of botany at the recently established University of Ljubljana. He also continued his studies on plant hybrids and helped found a research station in Beltinci.[4]
Beside plant genetics, Jesenko was notable as one of the proponents of Triglav National Park, the only national park in present-day Slovenia and one of the earliest in Europe. In 1924, Alpine Conservation Park was founded, and Jesenko demarcated a part of its borders with his students. He used to spend summers there, researching alpine flora with students and contributing to the area's permanent legal protection, which was only secured in 1981, long after Jesenko's death. He died in the summer of 1932 after a mountaineering accident in the Komarča rock face while doing his studies there. With a broken back, he was transferred to a hospital in Ljubljana, where he passed away on 14 July.[1][4]
References
- ^ a b c Tanjšek, Anton; Kreft, Ivan (1996). "Less known studies on Triticale in Central and Eastern Europe". In Guedes-Pinto, Henrique; Darvey, Norman; Carnide, Valdemar P. (eds.). Triticale: Today and Tomorrow. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 83–88. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-0329-6_11. ISBN 9780792342120.
- ^ "Prof. Fran Jesenko". Nature. 130: 426. 1932. doi:10.1038/130426a0.
- ^ "Jesenko, Fran (1875–1932)". Slovenska biografija. Research Centre of the SAZU. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
- ^ a b c Adamič, France (1979). "Stoletnica rojstva profesorja dr. Frana Jesenka" (PDF). Zbornik za zgodovino naravoslovja in tehnike. 4: 245–250.