Person

Tepper, Johann Gottlieb Otto (1841 - 1923)

FLS

Born
19 April 1841
Poznan, Poland
Died
16 February 1923
Norwood, South Australia, Australia
Occupation
Naturalist and Teacher

Summary

Otto Tepper was a teacher and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of the natural history of South Australia. After 16 years teaching in rural areas of the colony, he was appointed Collector at the South Australian Museum, later also being given responsibilities as numismatist, librarian and Entomologist. His main collecting areas were the Barossa Valley, Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island and Yorke Peninsula. He published widely on insects, describing a number of new species, and on the flora and geology of South Australia. The South Australian Museum holds Tepper's entomological specimens: his collection of plant specimens ultimately went to the State Herbarium of South Australia, while the National Herbarium of Victoria holds over 3,200 specimens as a result of his extended correspondence with Ferdinand von Mueller. Tepper was an active participant in local scientific societies, serving two terms as President of the Field Naturalists' Section of the Royal Society of South Australia. He also played a key role in conservation initiatives, including chairing the Native Fauna and Flora Protection Committee. A number of plant species and the cockroach genus Jotepperia (= Carbrunneria) were named in Tepper's honour.

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Details

Chronology

1847
Life event - Migrated to South Australia with his family
1867 - 1883
Career position - Teacher in rural schools, South Australian Department of Education
1878 - 1880
Career position - Member, Adelaide Philosophical Society
1879 - 1923
Career position - Fellow, The Linnean Society of London (FLS)
1880 - 1912
Career position - Member, South Australian Gardener's Society
1883
Career position - Member of Committee, Field Naturalists' Section, Royal Society of South Australia
1883 - 1888
Career position - Natural History Collector, South Australian Institute
1883 - 1923
Career position - Founding Member, Field Naturalists' Section, Royal Society of South Australia
1886 - 1888
Career position - Chairman, Field Naturalists' Section, Royal Society of South Australia
1888 - 1911
Career position - Entomologist, South Australian Institute
1891 - 1893
Career position - Life Member, Society of Science, Letters and Arts, London
1891 - 1923
Career position - Chairman, Field Naturalists' Section, Royal Society of South Australia
1896 - 1909
Career position - Vice-President, South Australian Gardener's Society
1911
Life event - Retired
1912 - 1923
Award - Honorary Member, Royal Society of South Australia

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Book Sections

  • Kraehenbuehl, Darrell N., 'Tepper, Johann Gottlieb Otto (1841-1923), Botanist, Schoolteacher and Entomologist' in Australian dictionary of biography: supplement 1580 - 1980, with a name index to the Australian dictionary of biography to 1980, Christopher Cunneen, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2005), p. 379. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10458b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

  • Kraehenbuehl, D. N., 'Life and Works of J. G. O. Tepper, FLS, and His Association with the Field Naturalists' Section of the Royal Society of South Australia', South Australian Naturalist, 44 (2) (1969), 23-42. Details
  • Kraehenbuehl, Darryl N., 'J. G. O. Tepper, Dedicated Conservationist, Naturalist and Scientist', Journal of the Friends of Lutheran Archives, 14 (2004), 33-44. Details
  • Ryley, Malcolm J., 'Wattle gall - the quintessential Australian plant disease', Historical records of Australian science, 35 (2) (2024), 116-29, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR23006. Details
  • Tepper, J. G. O., 'The insects of South Australia: an attempt at a census', Transactions and proceedings and report of the Philosophical Society of Adelaide, 2 (33-) (1879), 33-59. Details

Resources

See also

  • Kraehenbuehl, Darrell, 'Pioneer German botanists in colonial South Australia', South Australian Naturalist, 72 (3/4) (1998), 43-64. Details
  • Martin, Rosemary, The Tepper family history (Minyip, Vic.: Tepper Family Reunion Committee, 1986), 379 pp. Details

Helen Cohn

Created: 5 December 2017, Last modified: 20 February 2020

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