About Schlegel
Hermann Schlegel

Early life and education
Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated Schlegel's interest in Natural history
The discovery, by chance, of a buzzard 's nest led him to the study of birds, and a meeting with Christian Ludwig Brehm a German pastor and ornithologist
Schlegel started to work for his father but soon tired of it. He travelled to Vienna in 1824 where, at the university, he attended the lectures of Leopold Fitzinger an Austrian zoologist and Johann Jacob Heckel. A letter of introduction from Brehm to Joseph Natterer gained him a position at the Naturhistorisches Museum a large museum located in Vienna, Austria.

Ornithological career
One year after his arrival, the director of this natural history museum, Carl Franz Anton Ritter von Schreibers an Austrian naturalist who was a native of Pressburg, recommended him to Coenraad Jacob Temminck a Dutch aristocrat and zoologist, director of the natural history museum of Leiden, who was seeking an assistant. At first Schlegel worked mainly on the Reptile collection, but soon his field of activity extended to other zoological groups. It had been intended that Schlegel be sent to Java to join the Natural History Commission, but the untimely death of Temminck's intended successor, Heinrich Boie a German zoologist, prevented the realization of this project.
It was at this time that Schlegel met Philipp Franz von Siebold a German physician. They became firm friends and collaborated on Fauna Japonica (1845-1850).
 
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