Wilhelm Breitenbach (1856–1937)

German naturalist, traveller, journalist, and publisher. Studied at the Realschule, Lippstadt, where Hermann Müller taught, 1872–7. Studied natural sciences at Jena, 1877–80; wrote his dissertation on the structure of the proboscis in butterflies. After graduation, travelled to Brazil, where he met Fritz Müller. In 1883, set up a press in Germany and began publishing a newspaper, the Odenkirchener Zeitung. Editor, Frankfurter Journals, 1885. A popular lecturer on natural history topics. Between 1904 and 1913, published a biography of Ernst Haeckel, a series of Darwinist lectures and essays, and, with Haeckel, a book on nature as an artist. Co-founder of the German Monist League; edited the monist journal, Neue Weltanschauung, from 1908. President of the Bielefeld Natural History Society, 1914.