Ernesto Foldats

Ernesto Foldats Andins
Born	May 15, 1925 (1925-05-15) Liepāja, Latvia
Died	January 15, 2003 (2003-01-16) Caracas, Venezuela
Nationality	Venezuelan, Latvian
Known for	Venezuelan flora, in particular orchids
Scientific career
Fields	Orchidologist
Institutions	Universidad Central de Venezuela
Author abbrev. (botany)	Foldats

Dr. Ernesto Foldats Andins (1925 – 2003), was born in Latvia, as Ernests Foldāts. He later moved to Venezuela, where he became a successful botanist and orchidologist. He has held numerous official positions, e.g. Director of the School of Biology, Dean of the Faculcy of Science at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (1962–1968) and Scientific advisor to the Commission on the Legislature and Environment. He was Dr. Honoris causa at the University of Riga, Latvia. Foldats was a member of Latvian student fraternity Fraternitas Vanenica.

Professional career

He undertook his initial studies at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg, Germany from 1945 to 1948. He moved to Venezuela in 1950, and graduated in Biological Sciences in 1954 at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1958. He eventually received his doctorate in 1964 at the same university after having undertaken post-graduate courses and work in the United States (1958–1959). His 1964 doctoral thesis, "Orchids of Venezuela", identified 70 new orchids and won the International Creole Prize and a monetary award of 10,000 dollars. . It was subsequently published in five volumes as La Flora de Venezuela las ORCHIDACEAE. He became Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1993.

Main works

• Foldats, Ernesto (1969). Orchidaceae. Caracas: Edición Especial del Instituto Botanico.

• Foldats, Ernesto (1969). Contríbucíón a la Orquídíoflora de Venezuela. Caracas, Empresa "El Cojo".

References

• "OBITUARIO" (PDF). Acta Científica Venezolana. 54: 87. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2004. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
• R. Kondratovičs (24 Feb 2003). "Zinātnes Vēstnesis" (in Latvian). Latvijas Zinātnes padomes, Latvijas Zinātņu akadēmijas un Latvijas Zinātnieku savienības laikraksts. pp. (254). ISSN 1407-6748. Retrieved 6 Feb 2009. In memoriam ERNESTS FOLDĀTS (1925. g. 15. maijs–2003. g. 15. janvāris) {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dateformat= (help)

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