Josef Müller (entomologist) facts for kids

Josef Müller (born April 24, 1880 – died September 21, 1964) was a famous Croatian scientist. He was also known as Giuseppe Müller. He specialized in entomology, which is the study of insects.

Early Life and Studies

Josef Müller was born in 1880 in a city called Zadar. At that time, Zadar was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From a young age, he was very good at learning languages. He also learned a lot about the scientific method, which is how scientists ask questions and find answers.

In 1898, Josef moved to Graz, a city in Austria. There, he studied natural history at the University of Graz. He finished his studies in 1902. His main project was about the shape and structure of land planarians, which are a type of flatworm.

In 1900, he won a special award called the "Unger Prize." He earned this prize for his work on the roots of unusual orchid plants. During this time, he met many other scientists who studied insects, like Ludwig Ganglbauer.

Life in Trieste

After finishing his studies, Müller moved to Trieste, a city in Italy. He started teaching natural history at a high school there. He also joined a group called the Società Adriaca de Scienze Naturali.

Later, he and other scientists who loved insects started their own club. They made a big plan to study insects in the Trieste area. This led him to explore caves and study the tiny creatures living inside them. He was especially interested in blind insects called arthropods.

Müller shared his findings at a big meeting of scientists in Graz. This made him well-known among other researchers. He then worked with many other scientists on different projects. One of his most important works was about blind ground beetles. It was called "Monographie der blinden Trechen der Ostalpen und Balkanhalbinsel." For this work, he received the Ganglbauer Prize.

World War I and Discoveries

During World War I, Josef Müller's scientific work was paused. He had to join the military. But his knowledge about insects was very helpful! He helped control diseases that insects could spread.

For his first year, he worked at a station in Albania that fought against malaria. Later, he was invited to a special laboratory in Vienna. There, he studied the body louse, a tiny insect. He proved that a type of bacteria, called Rickettsia prowazekii, is carried by this louse. This bacteria causes a serious illness called epidemic typhus. His discovery was very important for public health.

Museum Director

In 1921, Müller became a conservator at the Natural History Museum in Trieste. A conservator helps take care of the museum's collections. Just two years later, he became the director of the museum. He also became the director of the botanical gardens.

From 1930 to 1940, he traveled many times to North Africa. He went there to collect and study different kinds of Histeridae beetles. He also had a great idea to build an aquarium in Trieste. This aquarium would have many colorful fish from the Red Sea. The aquarium opened in 1933. Josef Müller retired from the museum in 1946 because of his age.

He passed away in Trieste in 1964, when he was 84 years old.

Scientific Work

Most of Josef Müller's scientific work focused on beetles, especially a type called carabid beetles. He discovered and described 757 new types of insects. These new types are called taxa. Many of them were entirely new groups, or genera, of insects.

He also studied other animal groups. These included pseudoscorpions (which look like tiny scorpions), crustaceans (like crabs and shrimp), reptiles (like lizards and snakes), and birds of prey (like eagles and hawks).