Franz Hladnik

botanist and schoolmaster

Idria, Carniola, then in Austria (now Slovenia), the son of a mining official. He studied philosophy and theology and became a priest in 1796. His weak health prevented him from undertaking parish duties, and in 1796 he became a scribe in the library of the Ljubljana Lyceum, but soon gave this up, and for forty years devoted himself to teaching in the various schools of Ljubljana. In 1803 he was already director of the Normal School and in 1807 prefect of the high school, a job that he held until his sight failed. In his last years he was blind. He was honoured for his work there by Francis II. During the French annexation under the Illyrian Provinces, Hladnik was appointed professor of botany and natural history at the Central School of Ljubljana, and presented with a piece of land to be laid out for the cultivation of the flora of Carniola