Richard Wettstein
Austrian botanist (1863-1931)
Richard Wettstein (30 June 1863 – 10 August 1931) was an Austrian botanist. His taxonomic system, the Wettstein system, was one of the earliest based on phyletic principles.
Wettstein studied in Vienna under Anton Kerner von Marilaun and later married Kerner's daughter Adele. Their sons included the botanist Fritz von Wettstein and the zoologist Otto von Wettstein. His grandson Diter von Wettstein was a plant geneticist. During his time at the University of Vienna, he founded the student-led Natural Science Association with his friend Karl Eggerth in 1882.
He was a professor at the University of Prague from 1892, and at the University of Vienna from 1899. He newly laid out the Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna.
In 1901 he became president of the Vienna Zoological-Botanical Society (Zoologisch-Botanische Gesellschaft), and during the same year took part in a scientific expedition to Brazil. In 1919 he was appointed vice-president of the Vienna Academy of Sciences.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Richard Wettstein” is austrian botanist (1863-1931). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Richard, Wettstein and Austrian, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “austrian botanist (1863-1931)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q78599. VIAF identifies the subject as 68990865. The Library of Congress control number is n85105903. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1863, 1931, 1882 and 1892.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Richard Wettstein”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Richard Wettstein primary sources, Richard Wettstein archive and Richard research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Richard Wettstein”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Richard Wettstein” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.