Erwin Stresemann  Erwin Stresemann (22 November 1889, in Dresden – 20 November 1972, in East Berlin) was a German naturalist and ornithologist. Stresemann was an ornithologist of extensive breadth who compiled one of the first and most comprehensive accounts of avian biology of its time as part of the "Handbuch der Zoologie" (Handbook of Zoology). In the process of his studies on birds, he also produced one of the most extensive historical accounts on the development of the science of ornithology. He influenced numerous ornithologists around him and oversaw the development of ornithology in Germany as editor of the "Journal für Ornithologie". He also took an interest in poetry, philosophy and linguistics. He published a monograph on the Paulohi language based on studies made during his ornithological expedition to the Indonesian island. Stresemann was born in Dresden to Richard, an apothecary and Marie. His grandfather Theodor owned the "Zum Roten Adler" pharmacy in Berlin-Kölln while his father and a brother Gustav owned the "Mohrenapotheke" in Dresden from 1876. The family was affluent, providing a stimulating environment and he took an interest in beetles and maintained a vivarium. When he joined the Vitzthum Gymnasium, the teacher of mathematics and biology, Dr. Otto Koepert, gave Erwin the job of organizing the school's collection of American and African birds. At a comparatively young age he was able to travel to Heligoland, Bornholm and Moscow. After high school he went to study zoology the Jena in 1908 and then transferred to Munich to study under Richard von Hertwig and still later at Freiburg. He made contact with Ernst Haeckel and studied marine biology at Bergen. He took a break from 1910 to 1912 to join as an ornithologist on the "Second Freiburg Expedition" to the Moluccas (1910–12). The expedition was led by Karl Deninger, a geologist who had visited the islands in 1906/7. They were joined by ethnologist Odo Deodatus Tauern. The cost had to be borne by the participants and Stresemann prepared himself on fauna, geology and ethnology of the Moluccas. He went to Tring and consulted with Ernst Hartert and then climbed hills and trained to stand the heat by climbing Mount Vesuvius.