Prof. PhDr. Jan Křtitel Kašpar Palacký

(*10. 10. 1830 - Praha   † 22. 2. 1908 - Praha)

The only son of the well-known historian and politician František Palacký, he originally studied at the Faculty of Law of the University of Prague. From his youth he often travelled. In 1856 he was habilitated as the first associate professor of geography at the University of Prague. He lectured as an associate professor until 1866 and again from 1878. As early as 1861 Jan Palacký sat for the Old Bohemians in the Provincial Assembly and in 1870 he was even elected to the Reich Council.) His domain was general geography and biogeography. He lectured in both Czech and German. The accounts of his students show that Palacký's lectures were rather chaotic and disorganized.  His written texts are said to be characterised by a plethora of abbreviations and statistics. In 1882, a proposal was made for Palacký's professorship, which was not granted until 1885, when he was appointed an extraordinary professor. From 1891 he worked at the Czech University as a full professor of geography. His most important works include Geography General Scientific Comparative I (Prague 1857-60), Vzduchosloví (1863 - considered the first Czech textbook on meteorology), Pflanzengeographische Studien (Prague 1866, 1883, 1884), Die Verbreitung der Vőgel auf der Erde (Vienna 1885), Die Verbreitung der Fischer (Prague 1891) and Geographical Distribution of Turtles (1897).

Sources:

HÄUFLER, Vlastislav. Geschichte der Geographie an der Karls-Universität. 1st edition: Charles University, 1967, 421 p.

MARTÍNEK, Jiří. Geographers in the Czech Lands 1800-1945: (biographical dictionary). Prague: Historical Institute, 2008, 245 p. ISBN 978-80-7286-133-0.

MARTÍNEK, Jiří and MARTÍNEK, Miloslav. Who was who. 1st ed. Prague: Libri, 1998, 509 p. ISBN 80-85983-50-8.