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Prof. Dr. Hüsnü Demiriz
Author: T. Baytop |
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| Prof.Dr.
Hüsnü Demiriz, emeritus professor of Botany at the Faculty of
Science of Istanbul University, died in Istanbul on March 1999 at the age of 79. He was born on 4 December 1920 in Nigde (Central Anatolia). He was educated in the German School at Istanbul; than in the High Institute of Agriculture at Ankara from where he graduated in 1946. He began his academic career in the Pharmaceutical Botany and Genetics Institute, Faculty of Science, Istanbul University, as an assistant of the director Ord. Prof. Dr. Alfred Heilbronn (1885-1961). He presented his Dr. Sc. thesis on the "Associations of Laurus nobilis and Myrtus communis on N. and S. Anatolian shores" in 1954. He became assistant-professor in 1969. In 1968-1969, he was in Erzurum, where he taught Botany in the Faculty of Science of Atatürk University. From 1974 to 1977, he served as dean of the Faculty of Science of Dicle University (Diyarbakir) and as director of the Botanical Department of the same Faculty. Returned to Istanbul, he directed the Botanical Department of Istanbul University from 1978 to 1984. From 1984 on, he remained active in the same department until his retirement on First January 1988. His research and teaching fields were systematics and the Turkish flora. He lectured mainly to students in biology and, for few years, to students in pharmacy. He authored nearly 90 publications. He had a keen interest in herbaria. He founded DUF, the Herbarium of Dicle University at Diyarbakir. He contributed for many years to the development of ISTE, the Herbarium of Istanbul University which was founded in 1935 by Prof. Dr. A. Heilbronn. He was active as editor in two scientific periodicals: Turkish Journal of Biology (from 1951 to 1965) and Journal of the Faculty of Science of Istanbul University (from 1977 to 1987). He organized two international meetings in Istanbul: II. International Symposium of the Problems of Balkan Flora Vegetation, Istanbul 3-10 July 1978, and 5th OPTIMA Meeting, Istanbul 6-15 September 1986. He was national adviser in the project MED-CHECKLIST (Berlin) and a regional collaborator in the project ATLAS FLORA EUROPE (Helsinki). He wrote the accounts of Telephium L. (1967), Dorycnium Miller (1970) and Laurus L. (1982) in P.H. Davis' Flora of Turkey (1965-1988). He was the co-author of 3 new taxa: Anemone pavonina Lam. Var. alba Dane et Demiriz (1988), Asplenium obovatum Viv. Var. protobillotii Demiriz, Viane et Reichst. (1990), Asplenium obovatum Viv. Var. deltoideum Demiriz, Viane et Reichst. (1990). The following 6 taxa were named in his honour: Verbascum demirizianum Hub.-Mor. (1955), Centaurea demirizii Wagenitz (1961), Aethionema demirizii Davis et Hedge (1988), Isatis demiriziana Misirdali (1988), Ornithogalum demirizianum Mayer et Koyuncu (1989), Lamium demirizii A. Khokhr. (1997). Exact, attentive and well educated, he personally built a rich library. He always was kindly helpful to those who were asking him for any kind of information, criticism or advice. His monumental bibliographical work entitled "An Annotated Bibliography of Turkish Flora and Vegetation" (1933), which compiles 5000 publications related to Turkish flora, reflects the range of his profound knowledge upon the flora of his country. Prof. Demiriz will long be remembered by his friends, colleagues and students. He is survived by his wife, two sons and five grandchildren. T. Baytop |
