Tadeusz Vetulani

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Tadeusz Bolesław Vetulani
Born(1897-03-13)13 March 1897
Sanok
Died24 February 1952(1952-02-24) (aged 54)
Kraków
CitizenshipPolish
OccupationBiologist

Tadeusz Bolesław Vetulani (13 March 1897 – 24 February 1952) was a Polish agriculturalist and biologist, associate professor of

Polish koniks, launching restoration and breeding schemes.[1][2]

Biography

Vetulani was born in Sanok in 1897, the son of

Lvov University, Adam, a professor of Jagiellonian University, Zygmunt, Maria, and Elżbieta.[3]

In the years 1915–1916 he studied philosophy at the

Polish konik into the hippological literature in the mid-1920s.[2]Zbigniew Jaworski of the Polish Academy of Sciences says that "based on his research and observations, he hypothesized that a forest variety of the tarpan (Equus cab. gmelini Ant., forma silvatica Vet.) had split off from the populations living in the steppes of Eastern Europe and had survived into the mid 18th century in the lands of Poland, Lithuania, and Prussia."[2]

In 1926, Vetulani received a doctoral degree in agriculture at the Jagiellonian University.

Stefan Batory University in Vilnius.[3] In February 1936, he founded a reserve and restoration scheme in Białowieża Forest involving the breeding of Polish koniks, putting his early hypothesis to practice.[2] Helmut Hemmer says that "Tadeusz Vetulani purchased animals with particularly high resemblance to tarpans and subjected them to a selection programme carried out in the Institute for Genetics and Animal Breeding of the Polish Academy."[4]

Plaque of Vetulani in Poznań

From 1938, Vetulani was co-editor of the German journal "Zeitschrift für Züchtungsbiologie." In 1939 he represented Poland in Zürich in an international conference on breeding.[3]

During World War II, the horses introduced by Vetulani to Białowieża were removed by German brothers Heinz Heck and Lutz Heck and brought to Munich and Berlin to be used as breeding stock for their own attempt to recreate the tarpan, which would ultimately produce a horse breed known as Heck horses. Vetulani viewed this as a "baffling campaign of destruction", and the removal of the animals ultimately ended his breeding program.[5]

During World War II Vetulani lived in

Katyn graves, not wanting to serve the German propaganda.[3]

Between 1945–1952 worked in restoration and increasing the breeding of the Polish pony. In 1949 he received the full title of Professor of Animal Husbandry.[3]

On 5 June 1949 he married Marie Godlewska. Their son

Zygmunt was born in 1950.[3]

Tadeusz Vetulani died of a heart attack on 24 February 1952. He had fainted while working in a laboratory in Krakow during a scientific trip, and died the same day. He was buried at the Rakowicki Cemetery.

Family tree

References

  1. Adam Mickiewicz University
    . Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d Jaworski, Zbigniew. "Precious ponies" (PDF). Research Station for Ecological Agriculture and Preservation of Native Breeds, Popielno Polish Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  3. ^
    Adam Mickiewicz University
    . Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  4. ISBN 978-0-521-34178-3
    . Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  5. ^ Wang, Michael (Spring 2012). "Heavy Breeding". Cabinet (45).
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