The Resume

(November 7, 1903-February 27, 1989)
Born in Vienna, Austria
Considered the father of ethology (the science of animal behavior)
Rediscovered imprinting in birds
Co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1973)
Wrote 'King Solomon's Ring' (1949), 'Man Meets Dog' (1950), 'On Aggression' (1966), 'Behind the Mirror' (1973) and 'Civilized Man's Eight Deadly Sins' (1974)

Why he might be annoying:

He joined the Nazi party (1938), declaring, 'My whole scientific work is devoted to the ideas of National Socialists.'
He argued that 'socially inferior human material' could destroy 'the healthy body of a people.'
In a letter to a fellow scientist, he compared the beak of the shoveler duck to an 'ugly Jewish nose.'
His tendency to generalize from limited observations led a colleague to joke that ethology was 'the science of the greylag goose, Martina.'
His attempts to draw analogies between animal behavior and human behavior were controversial.

Why he might not be annoying:

He apologized, 'Many highly decent scientists hoped, like I did, for a short time for good from National Socialism, and many quickly turned away from it with the same horror as I.'
He was married to his wife Margarethe for 62 years until his death.
He credited his career to his parents who were 'supremely tolerant of of my inordinate love of animals.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Scientists
• Animal Experts
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 09]
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [November] (Ranked: 11071903)
• I am a Nazi
• I am an Anti-Semite
• I Attended Columbia
• I Died in 1989 (Ranked: 85)
• I Earned a Doctorate
• I Got a Monkey
• I Got a Pet Cat or Twenty
• I Had Renal Failure
• Look at Me and My Pet
• Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (Ranked: 1973)
• Profiles 22251-22500 (Ranked: 22351)
• Scientists
• Served in World War II
• We Celebrated Our Golden Anniversary

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 35 Votes: 5.71% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 19 Votes: 73.68% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 89 Votes: 41.57% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 62 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 34 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 33 Votes: 51.52% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 14 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 48 Votes: 79.17% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 55 Votes: 65.45% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 36 Votes: 47.22% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 43 Votes: 67.44% Annoying