Henryk Stenzel

Henryk Bronislaw Stenzel (born 7 February 1899 in Pabianice, dead 5 September 1980 in Houston), was an American paleontologist of Polish and Jewish descent.[1]

Biographical data

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Biography

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Born Henryk Sztencel, he studied at the University of Breslau, where the administration forced him to change the spelling of his name.[2][3] In 1922 he got a doctoral degree on the basis of a thesis prepared under Hans Cloos. In 1925 he emigrated to the USA, where in 1929 he married Elsie née Brodbeck.[4] He worked on Texas A&M University (then Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas), University of Texas at Austin,[5] University of Houston, Rice University, and Louisiana State University.[2] He retired in 1977 because of health issues;[4] he died after a long illness.[2]

Functions and dignities

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Scientific achievements

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In the USA Stenzel worked mainly on Tertiary paleontology, including speciation in fossil bivalves.[7] He described several new taxa of fossil bivalves.[8] His main achievement is a complete taxonomic revision of fossil oysters, published as a separate volume of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology (volume N-3, 1971).[9]

Eponymy

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Stenzelia MacNeil, 1954,[10] a genus (or subgenus) of Eocene bivalves, Stenzeloceras Whetstone & Teichert, 1978, a genus of Cretaceous nautiloids, and a few species[8] have been named in his honor.

Notes

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  1. ^ Hoppe, Andreas; Hoppe, Dorothee (2018-03-01). "Geowissenschaftler und ihr Judentum im deutschen Sprachraum des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts". Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften. 169 (1): 73–95. Bibcode:2018ZDGG..169...73H. doi:10.1127/zdgg/2018/0154.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Association, Texas State Historical. "Henryk Stenzel: Pioneer in Paleontology and Stratigraphy". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  3. ^ "Profesor Stenzel - Wyłowione z "sieci" - www.um.pabianice.pl - Oficjalny portal". um.pabianice.pl. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  4. ^ a b Young, Keith (1982). "Memorial: Henryk Bronislaw Stenzel (1899-1980)". 66 (2): 230–231. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ "Henryk B. Stenzel (1899-1980) | Jackson School Museum of Earth History". www.jsg.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  6. ^ "GCSSEPM Honorary Member". www.gcssepm.org. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  7. ^ H. B. Stenzel (March 1949). "Successional Speciation in Paleontology: The Case of the Oysters of the Sellaeformis Stock". Evolution. 3 (1): 34–50. Bibcode:1949Evolu...3...34S. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1949.tb00003.x. PMID 18115116. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  8. ^ a b "Shellers From the Past and the Present - Stenzel, Henryk Bronislaw". www.conchology.be.
  9. ^ Henryk B. Stenzel (1971). Raymond Cecil Moore, Curt Teichert, Lavon McCormick, Roger B. Williams (ed.). Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part N: Bivalvia, Volume 3: Oysters. Boulder (Colo.)–Lawrence (Kan.): Geological Society of America & The University of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-8137-3026-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  10. ^ F. Stearns MacNeil (1954). "Stenzelia, New Name for Trinacriella MacNeil". Journal of Paleontology. 28 (2): 217.