Fritsch, Felix Eugène 1879-1954

Felix Eugen Fritsch (1879-1954) was an expert in freshwater algae. He graduated from London University then going on to the University of Munich where he was an assistant in the botanical department from 1899-1901, where he obtained his Ph.D. When returning to England he joined the staff at University College, London in 1902, as an Assistant Professor from 1906-1911. In 1907 he began teaching at Queen Mary College, then called East London College where he was head of the botanical deprtament for 41 years. In 1931 he was president of the British Ecological Society and in the next year was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of which he was Darwin medallist in 1950. In retirement frin 1949-1952 he was President of the Linnean Society of London and was awarded the Society's Gold Medal just before his death. In 1952 the University of London made him a LL.D. honoris causa. In 1953 he became President of the British Institute of Biology and of the International Association of Limnology

Fritsch took part in many International Botanical and Limnological congresses, including working in Ceylon, India

Taken from Lund J.W.G 1955: 'Felix Eugen Fritsch (1879-1954). In Memoriam'. Revue Algologique

In 1912,Fritsch began the reference collection of published illustrations of freshwater, brackish and terrestrial algae which now bears his name. Illustrations were pasted onto foolscap sheets and filed by species and including varieties and forms, it includes many of the original descriptions and figures; all fully author indexed. This is accessible at the Freshwater Biological Association. More information can be found here http://www.fba.org.uk/fritsch-collection

From the guide to the Felix Eugen Fritsch Collection, 1900s-1940s, (Freshwater Biological Association Collections)