Hans Hermann Behr

Who was Hans Hermann Behr?

Hans Hermann Behr was a German-American doctor, an entomologist and a botanist.

Behr studied medicine at the universities of Halle and Berlin. There he obtained the title of doctor in 1843 and then he voyaged to Australia, Asia and South Africa. By 1847 he had accumulated large collections of plants and insects. He took part in the revolution of 1848 and had to flee Prussia. He went initially to Australia before emigrating to the United States of America. He practised medicine in San Francisco joining the School of Pharmacy of California. He was the vice-president of that society from 1887 to 1888. He became the conservator of the California Academy of Sciences in 1894. In addition to scientific publications, Behr wrote poetry and news articles. An avenue of San Francisco is dedicated to him.

He published sixteen entomological papers mainly on Lepidoptera.