HansFreiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg (October 3, 1884 – August 24, 1963) was a German nobleman,arborist andornithologist. He served as a professor of forestry at the Münden Forestry University from 1923 to 1938.
Von Schweppenburg was born inMüddersheim south-east of Düren in the family of Baron Friedrich Leopold and his wife Sophie Countess von und zu Eltz. He went to the Rhenish Knights' Academy in Bedburg, finishing high school at the age of 17. By age 20 he had already published 15 scientific papers on bird, and the total rose to 250 between the first in 1901 and the last in 1963. He was particularly interested inbird migration, and for many years his studies of thered-breasted flycatcher (1911) andEurasian siskin (1930) were the major works on those species. He then went to study inBonn andBerlin, gaining a degree in forest science at the forest academies in Eberswalde and Münden. He became a forest assessor in 1912. He conducted studies on owls and their prey, identifying 20,000 vertebrate remains in owl pellets. He collaborated withAlexander Koenig (1858 - 1940) of the Bonn Museum andOtto le Roi (1878-1916). They then went on expeditions to expeditions toSpitzbergen andBear Island in 1907, and in 1913 to the White Nile in Sudan. In 1914 he travelled to Algeria withPaul Spatz (1865 - 1942) collecting specimens during the travels. He returned and joined the army upon the outbreak of World War I. After theFirst Battle of the Marne, one leg had to be amputated and five years later the other also had to be amputated but learned to walk with artificial legs, and continued to work.[1] He became a state forester and received a doctorate in 1923 on the subspecies concept. In 1924 he became a professor at Münden Forestry University, where he stayed until his retirement in 1938.[1] He lived in the moated castle at Eicks in North Eifel. He had a special interest inbird migration and for many years his studies of thered-breasted flycatcher (1911) andEurasian siskin (1930) were the major works on those species.[1]
Geyr von Schweppenburg named some subspecies of birds, including thepale crag martin subspeciesPtyonoprogne obsoleta spatzi.[1]
In 1933 he signed theVow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State.
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