Dirk Geijskes
Geijskes (c. 1960)
Born
Dirk Cornelis Geijskes

(1907-05-16)16 May 1907
Kats, Netherlands
Died27 September 1985(1985-09-27) (aged 78)
Leiden, Netherlands
Occupation(s)Biologist, ethnologist, curator
Known forDirector Surinaams Museum, dragonfly collection Naturalis, expeditions to the interior of Suriname

Dirk Cornelis Geijskes (16 May 1907 – 27 September 1985) was a Dutch biologist, ethnologist and curator. He was the first director of the Surinaams Museum.[1] As a biologist, he specialised in dragonflies. He would lead many expeditions into the interior of Suriname. In 1967, he became curator at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie[2] where he started the dragonfly collection. Geijskes is the author of 123 publications,[2] and 25 species have been named after him.[3]

Biography

Geijskes was born on 16 May 1907 in Kats, Netherlands.[2] In 1927, he went to Leiden University to study biology.[4] In 1929, he travelled to Trinidad to study dragonflies which would become his speciality.[5] Next, he went to the University of Basel, and in 1935 obtained his doctorate magna cum laude[1][2] for a thesis on the fauna and ecology of the Swiss Jura.[6] In 1936, he first described Brevipalpus phoenicis which was later discovered to be the main factor for Citrus leprosis disease.[7][8]

In 1938, Geijskes started to work as an entomologist for the Landbouwproefstation (Experimental agricultural station) in Suriname.[9] During his stay in Suriname, Geijskes would lead many expeditions into the interior.[10] In 1939, he went to the Litany River to study the poisoned arrows of the Wayana people.[10][11] In 1941, he participated in the Paroe Savanna expedition to the Tiriyó people.[10][12] In 1943, he embarked on the Coppename River expedition during which the Tafelberg was climbed for the first time.[11] In 1948 and 1949, he led an expedition from the coastal area across the Nassau Mountains.[11] The expedition collected about 10,000 specimens including 1,500 butterflies.[13]

In 1954, Geijskes would become government biologist and the first director of the Surinaams Museum.[2] In 1958, he led an expedition to the Tafelberg with Rudi Kappel to examine the savannah around the mountain, and investigate whether an airstrip could be built there.[14] The successful construction of an airstrip led to Operation Grasshopper in 1959 which mapped the natural resources in the interior.[15]

On 2 May 1965, Geijskes returned for the Netherlands,[16] and in 1967 started to work as curator at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (nowadays Naturalis).[2] where he started the dragonfly collection. In 2015, the collection contained 20,000 species.[3] In the Netherlands, he also would become a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1959 but he resigned in 1965.[17] He would also become and editor of the New West Indian Guide.[9]

Geijskes died on 27 September 1985 in Leiden, at the age of 78.[18]

Legacy and honours

Upon return to the Netherlands, Geijskes became officer in the Order of Orange Nassau. He was awarded a bronze medal by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society.[9]

Geijskes is the author of 123 publications,[2] and 25 species have been named after him.[3] In 1970, the dragonfly genus Lauromacromia was created by Geijskes.[19] In 2011, it held six species.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 Dierick 1985, p. 241.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dirk Cornelis Geijskes". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Marcel Wasscher (2015). Suriname Libellen als handvat voor natuurbehoud? (PDF). This Side of Paradise (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  4. ↑ Wagenaar Hummelinck 1972, p. 181.
  5. ↑ Wagenaar Hummelinck 1972, pp. 181–182.
  6. ↑ Wagenaar Hummelinck 1972, p. 182.
  7. ↑ Bastianel, M.; Noveli, V.M.; Kubo, K.S.; Kitajima, E.M.; Bassanezi, R.; Machado, M.A.; Freitas-Astúa, J. (2010). "Citrus leprosis:centennial of an unusual mite-virus pathosystem". Plant Disease. 94 (3): 284–292. doi:10.1094/pdis-94-3-0284. PMID 30754248.
  8. ↑ "Brevipalpus phoenicis (false spider mite)". Invasive Species Compendium. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 F.C. Bubberman (1986). "In memoriam Dr. D.C. Geijskes (1907-1985)". OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse Taalkunde, Letterkunde en Geschiedenis (in Dutch). pp. 83–84. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 Gernaat & Beckles 2007, p. 245.
  11. 1 2 3 Wagenaar Hummelinck 1972, p. 183.
  12. ↑ F. H. F. Oldenburger (1941). "Verslag van de tweede reis naar de Paroe-savanne van Baas Schmidt van Gansee" (PDF). Sipaliwini Savanna (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  13. ↑ Gernaat & Beckles 2007, p. 248.
  14. ↑ "Expeditie naar de Tafelberg". Het nieuws (in Dutch). 4 March 1958. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  15. ↑ Arno Landewers. "Operatie sprinkhaan" (PDF). Landewers (in Dutch). pp. 2–3. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  16. ↑ Wagenaar Hummelinck 1972, p. 184.
  17. ↑ "Dirk Cornelis Geijskes". Digital Web Centre for the History of Science in the Low Countries. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "Dr. Dirk Cornelis Geijskes". Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 30 September 1985. p. 4. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  19. ↑ Angelo B. M. Machado (2005). "Lauromacromia bedei sp. nov. from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil (Odonata, Corduliidae)". Revista Brasileira de Entomologia. 4: Abstract. doi:10.1590/S0085-56262005000400005.
  20. ↑ Martin Schorr (26 April 2011). "World Odonata List". Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2022.

Sources

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