Aleksander Zawadzki, born Józef Antoni Zawadzki, was a Polish naturalist, author of flora and fauna lists of the Galicia region and the neighbourhood of Lviv.
Education
He was also the first scientist who studied and catalogued the beetles and butterflies of Eastern Galicia. In the years 1854-1868 he studied evolution, and in Brno, where he arrived as a result of the turmoil caused by the Spring of Nations (Wiosna Ludów), became a mentor of Gregor Mendel, directing his talent toward the development of the theory of evolution and helping to lay the foundations of genetics.
Career
Zawadski was the teacher of zoologist Stanisław Konstanty Pietruski and between 1835-1837 he was a lecturer of botany and then professor of physics (1849-1853) at Lviv University. Chrysanthemum zawadskii, a species of chrysanthemum described by Franz Herbich, is named after him.
Membership
He was a member of several scientific societies, and the editor of Lviv"s magazines Rozmaitości and Mnemozyna.