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In the guest blog, geologist Thomas Hofmann looks at the early reception of Charles Darwin in 19th century Vienna.
When the natural scientist Charles Darwin died at the age of 73 in his home in Down, south of London, on April 19, 1882, his teachings had founded a new biological worldview. He had achieved worldwide fame, local satirical papers cried after him: "Charles Darwin dead! No - don't lie so boldly, dead is a word that does not fit the man, who only lost in the fight for existence when he grasped the conditions of existence; Charles Darwin lives and will not die for a long time, as a species of species, inheriting children from parents!" ("The Bomb", April 30, 1882). Is it any wonder that people are calling for memorials to be erected to him? The initiative came from England at the beginning of July 1882: collections were made for a monument and the establishment of a Darwin Foundation to support biological research.
In this country, a local committee was formed in August 1882 for a Darwin monument. It was supported by the monarchy's scientific elite, led by Alfred Ritter von Arneth, President of the Academy of Sciences. Among the proponents were the botanists Julius v. Wiesner and Anton Kerner v. Marilaun, the ichthyologist Franz Steindachner, the geologists Eduard Suess, Franz v. Hauer and Ferdinand v. Hochstetter. Also the surgeon Theodor Billroth, the paleontologist Melchior Neumayr, the entomologist Cajetan Felder, mayor of Vienna from 1868 to 1878. Government councilor and textbook author Alois Pokorny and Richard Drasche, son of brick baron Heinrich Drasche, who researches natural sciences, are also mentioned. Not to be missed was Hans Graf Wilczek, the great patron of science, and, notably, the painter Hans Canon. He was commissioned to create the monumental ceiling painting, “Circle of Life,” of the Natural History Museum (NHM), which was then under construction.
At the beginning of December 1882, there were just 410 guilders, the largest individual donor was Richard Drasche (100 guilders), three months later it was 655 guilders, the equivalent of 9,116 euros, which were raised through collection campaigns in Vienna, Innsbruck, Prague and Czernowitz. At least not enough for a representative monument. The English were more successful; on June 9, 1885, a seated Darwin made of fine Cararra marble was unveiled in London's Natural History Museum.
Even if a large posthumous monument to Darwin failed, people in Vienna always had their finger on the pulse of the times. First, the key dates of Darwin's two most important works: "On the Origin of Species" was published in 1859 (in German from 1860: "On the Origin of Species"). More than a decade later, in 1871, "The Descent of Man" followed.
Darwin's teachings met with great interest among the educated sections of the Viennese population. For December 10th and 17th, 1860, as part of the "Monday Lectures", which were aimed at a broad audience, Gustav Jäger, a zoologist, physician and director of the Tiergarten im Prater, gave lectures "On Darwin's Creation Theory" (Wiener Zeitung, November 13th, 1860). This opened the public discourse about Darwin in Vienna.
Researchers had already turned to Darwin's work: the diary entry from November 26, 1860 by Franz v. Hauer (k.k. Geological Reichsanstalt, today: GBA): "In the afternoon and evening I read a lot in Darwin about 'the origin of species', then organized the library." Ferdinand v. Hochstetter, who became a professor at the Polytechnic in Vienna (now TU) after the frigate Novara sailed around the world (1857–1859), gave a lecture on February 18, 1861 about the extinct giant birds of New Zealand, the moas. On the question of their extinction and the emergence of new species, he quoted Darwin: "In the 'struggle for existence,' as Darwin cleverly puts it, we must look for the principle for solving these questions." Hochstetter, along with Gustav Jäger, was one of the early Darwin advocates.
In May 1872 the "General Geography" was published, a work for teachers, specifically as a textbook for the "scientific part of the lesson". Written by Julius Hann, Ferdinand v. Hochstetter and Alois Pokorny (principal of the Leopoldstädter Realgymnasium). Hann was a meteorologist at the k. k. Central Institute for Meteorology and Earth Magnetism (today: ZAMG) and its director from 1877 to 1897. Accordingly, the book's subtitle was: "A Guide to Astronomical Geography, Meteorology, Geology and Biology." Since the authors claimed to take into account the "latest state of science", Darwin's work, starting with his early research on atolls, was also acknowledged accordingly. It was the first mention of Darwinism in a German-language school textbook. Not everyone cheered; there were also calls for a more differentiated presentation: "However, we must say that it would be desirable that Dr. Pokorny would have taken into account the objections to Darwin's hypothesis more forcefully than he did." ("Literarisches Zentralblatt für Deutschland", 1873, August 2nd).
The constant discussions of Darwin's work led to the natural scientist's great popularity. In 1872, the “Darwingasse” in Vienna-Leopoldstadt was named in his honor – it runs parallel to Heinestrasse and connects Taborstrasse with Nordbahnstrasse.
At the beginning of November 1872, the topic of Brühl's lectures for the winter semester was announced (November 5, 1872, "Das Freie Blatt"). These were “free lectures on Darwinian theory” that were held on Saturdays from November 1872 to February 1873 at the University of Vienna in the rooms of the former rifle factory (Alsergrund, Währinger Straße 11-13, Schwarzspanierstrasse 17). Carl Bernhard Brühl (1820–1899), doctor and popular educator, was committed, among other things, to the admission of women to university studies. From 1864 onwards he gave “free Sunday lectures on the structure of humans and animals for men and women”, which were well attended. With Darwin on the program, he became a multiplier of his views.
Incidentally, Brühl and Darwin were also crucial for Sigmund Freud to study medicine. Freud commented on this in his "Self-Portrait" (1925): "However, Darwin's teachings, which were current at the time, strongly attracted me because they promised an extraordinary promotion of understanding of the world, and I know that the presentation of Goethe's beautiful essay 'Nature' in a popular lecture by Prof. Carl Brühl shortly before the school-leaving examination led to the decision that I would enroll in medicine." Freud attended the Leopoldstädter Realgymnasium (Taborstrasse 24), where the aforementioned Pokorny was the director. We can assume that he confronted the young Sigmund, who graduated in 1873, with Darwin's teachings.
Darwin was visible on the facade from May 1881, when the scaffolding was removed from the museum under construction. Among the numerous portrait heads, statues and inscriptions of great scholars, whose time span stretches from antiquity to the 19th century, Darwin was the only one represented here during his lifetime. His head, created by the sculptor Josef Beyer, is on the facade facing Ringstrasse above a window on the second floor. Francis V. In his museum guide published in 1889, Hauer names 1877 as the year it was built. This also makes the mastermind of the Vienna Darwin head clear: Ferdinand von Hochstetter, who was appointed director of the museum that was then under construction in 1876.
Another Darwin highlight in the NHM is the “Darwin Frieze” by Johannes Benk in the upper domed hall. You can see a monkey holding a mirror in front of a boy's eyes. He covers his eyes. Behind it again is a monkey, in his hands the book "Darwin. Descent of Man". For Stefanie Jovanovic-Kruspel, these facts are arguments for calling the NHM in its overall concept, which, alongside the two architects Gottfried Semper and Carl Hasenauer, the signature of Hochstetter, the "first consistent 'evolution museum' in Europe". Of course, Hochstetter was no longer able to see the opening of the house in August 1889. He had died five years earlier, on July 18, 1884, and was followed in 1885 by Franz v. Hauer follows up on this position. (Thomas Hofmann, April 19, 2022)