Otto Kleinschmidt

Who was Otto Kleinschmidt?

Otto Kleinschmidt was a German ornithologist, theologist and pastor. He introduced a typological species concept into German ornithology. His Formenkreis theory influenced the early ideas of Erwin Stresemann. Others have considered him one of the first biogeographers. His position was that similar "forms" found in geographically distant regions could be accounted for by "formation rings" – with a fixed set of characters. This allowed him to support creationism while explaining biogeographical similarities.

Otto Kleinschmidt was born as the son of the fabric administrator Adolph Kleinschmidt and his wife Elise in Geinsheim on the Rhine. The house of the family was located miles from anywhere in between unspoiled countryside. Otto Kleinschmidt was already as a young boy highly interested in nature and the world of the birds. Besides that it was kind of a family tradition to research and collect. Already at the age of 8 Otto prepared his first taxidermied birds.