11 Facts About Othenio Abel

Othenio Lothar Franz Anton Louis Abel was an Austrian paleontologist and evolutionary biologist.

Othenio Abel earned a PhD, after studying both law and science, from the University of Vienna.

Othenio Abel remained there as an assistant to Alpine geologist Eduard Suess, before being appointed a professor of paleontology.

In 1907, Othenio Abel became an extraordinary professor in Vienna, and from 1917 to 1934 he was a regular professor of paleontology in Vienna.

Othenio Abel became a member of the Leopoldina academy in 1935.

From 1928 onwards, Othenio Abel was the publisher of a journal dedicated to paleobiology, Palaobiologica.

In 1914, Othenio Abel proposed that fossil dwarf elephants inspired the myth of giant Cyclopes, because the center nasal opening was thought to be a cyclopic eye socket.

Othenio Abel showed great interest in cave bear remains at the so-called "Dragon's Cave" near Mixnitz.

Othenio Abel was an advocate of orthogenesis, he believed that there were trends in evolution that were internally programmed.

Already as a student, Othenio Abel took part in antisemitic riots at the University of Vienna, during the Badeni-crisis of 1897.

Othenio Abel visited Vienna again in 1939, after the Anschluss with Nazi Germany.