Otto zur Strassen

rdf:langString Otto zur Strassen

rdf:langString Otto Karl Ladislaus zur Strassen (9 May 1869, in Berlin – 21 April 1961, in Oberstedten) was a German zoologist. An advocate of Darwinism, his primary focus was concerned with biological morphology and developmental mechanics. Otto was the son of sculptor Melchior Anton and his wife Cecilia. He studied natural sciences at the Universities of Leipzig and Freiburg, obtaining his doctorate in 1892 at Leipzig with a dissertation on Bradynema rigidum. After graduation, he furthered his education in Naples and in Russia. In 1901 he became an associate professor of specialized zoology at Leipzig, later working as a full professor of zoology at the University of Frankfurt am Main (1914–1935). In 1922/23 he served as university rector. In 1898/99 he took part in the first German Tiefsee-Expedition (deep-sea expedition) aboard the Valdivia. From 1909 to 1934, he was director of the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt am Main.