Bartsch, Paul
From GWUEncyc
Faculty
Paul Bartsch (1871-1960) taught biological science and zoology at The George Washington University (GW) from 1899 to 1939 and became a professor emeritus in 1937 through 1960. He was a zoologist who specialized in mollusks. Bartsch held many important positions throughout his life including, professor emeritus at GW and curator of the mollusks division of the U.S. National Museum.
Paul Bartsch was born in Silesia, Germany (currently Poland) in 1871. The Bartsch family immigrated to the United States in the 1880s, and settled down in Burlington, Iowa. Paul enrolled in sciences classes at the State University of Iowa; however, before completing his degree he left Iowa to work under William H. Dall, the honorary curator of the Division of Mollusks at the United States National Museum in Washington, DC. In 1914, Bartsch became the curator of the Division of Mollusks. His work at the Smithsonian led to many expeditions including those to the Philippines, Cuba, and the West Indies. He retired from his Smithsonian position in 1946.
While at the Smithsonian, Bartsch continued his research work on mollusks in addition to teaching biology, zoology, and histology to university students. Bartsch taught histology in the medical school at Howard University and eventually became director of the Histological and Physiological laboratory, a position that lasted thirty-seven years. Furthermore, he started teaching science and zoology at the GW in 1899 and became Professor emeritus in 1937. Bartsch continued as Professor emeritus at GW until 1960.
In addition to receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa (1905), Bartsch also received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from GW in 1937.
Bartsch was also the president of numerous societies, including the Wild Flower Preservation Society (1920-1924), the Biological Society in Washington D.C. (1913-1915), and Vice President of the Washington Academy (1913-1915).
Bartsch died in 1960.
The following appeared in the Hatchet in 1926:
It’s a long way to Tuntschendorf, Germany where Dr. Bartsch lived until he came to this country with his parents in 1882 at the age of eleven years. He went first to Missouri and later to Iowa, where he eventually attended the State University of Iowa receiving his B.S in 1896, M.S in 1899 and Ph.D. in 1905. In 1896 he accepted the position of aids in the Division of Mollusks. He is now curator of the Division of Mollusks, Helminths and Corals.
He became a member of the University faculty in 1899 as professor of zoology with a student attendance of four. The Department of Zoology, of which he is head, now has 140 students enrolled in its courses. He is also director of the histologic and physiologic laboratories and lecturer on medical zoology in the Medical Department of Howard University.
In connection with his biological pursuits, Dr. Bartsch has been a member of numerous governmental expeditions and a delegate to various scientific conventions which have carried him to the Mississippi Valley, Lower California, the Philippines, Hawaii, Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas and Florida. Every summer under the auspices of the Carnegie Institute, he is actively engaged in carrying out breeding experiments on the terrestrial mollusks of the Florida Keys.
During the war he was associated with the Bureau of Mines in war gas experiments and presented the government with the garden slug, one of the most important mustard gas detectors used in the Army. The humbling slug, he showed detected the gas in dilutions of 1:12,000,000. Gas masks were in order when its peculiar actions indicated; the 1: 4000,000 danger point was reached.
Dr. Bartsch’s chief efforts at president are directed to the study of mollusks in relation to human health and methods of preservation of wood to protect it against such destructive agents as fungi, termites and ship-worms. He has published 275 technical papers on conchological, ornithological and other biological subjects. He is also a member of any number of scientific organizations, a few of which follow; Washington Academy of Sciences, Biological Society of Washington, Washington Biologists’ Field Club, Geological Society of Washington, Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Federal Schoolmen’s Club.
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Author or Source: Faculty biographical files; Hatchet, Feb. 3, 1926; Paul Bartsch Papers/MS0250 [1]
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: December 21, 2006
Prepared by: Lyle Slovick, Assistant University Archivist
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