The following is my translation of an article called: Zu Bölsches 60. Geburtstag. It appeared in a German popular science magazine, Kosmos Handweiser für Naturfreunde 1921, Heft 1, Seiten B1-B2. Wilhelm Bölsche was one of the early star authors of the Kosmos stable, and his books on prehistory sold very widely in Germany. Although not a scientist himself, he did much to popularise the subject. A mere 86 years late, many happy returns Herr Bölsche.
I'm not aware of any previous translations.
Trevor Dykes.

To Bölsche's 60th birthday
Although Kosmos distances itself from any exaggerated honouring of personalities, we would not wish to allow the 60th birthday of Wilhelm Bölsche to pass by without the day being marked, as it is certain that the wide circle of nature lovers will share the sense of occasion. Since the foundation of our society, Bölsche has always been especially close and, in his time as an author on natural history, he has become so famous, that we are proud to be able to call him our own.

Wilhelm Bölsche comes from the Rhineland, as he was born on January 2nd, 1861 in Cologne. He attended grammar school there, studied philology and art history in Bonn, but then soon turned to the natural sciences and, following the completion of his studies in Paris, Zurich and Italy, he settled in Friedrichshagen near Berlin as an author. He lived there until recently in a small colony, as did Bruno Wille and both Harts. These men began the Friedrichshager Kulturkreis, a movement that sought to build bridges between strict science with philosophy and art and a new religious approach to life. Bölsche swapped his residence in Friedrichshagen last summer for permanent occupancy of his country estate at Schreiberhau in the Riesengebirge.

It appears that, at the beginning, Bölsche was primarily interested in the beauties of literature, ethics and criticism, but his work about the natural science foundations of poetry (1887) allowed it to be recognised that he had already developed a special love for natural sciences. After publishing a work on the developmental history of nature from 1893-1896, and also a study of Darwin, he achieved his greatest success with a three volume Das Liebesleben in der Natur ('The Love Life in Nature'). Since then, we must thank his fertile quill for a mass of larger and shorter works in the field of natural science, especially on evolutionary theory and prehistory. He has so far provided 12 volumes for Kosmos, and they are among the best works in popular science literature: Die Abstammung des Menschen ('The Origin of Man' -and I've got a copy!), Der Mensch der Vorzeit ('The Man of Prehistory'), Der Mensch der Pfahlbauzeit ('The Man of the Pfahlbau Age'), Im Steinkohlenwald ('In the Carboniferous Forest'), Eiszeit und Klimawechsel ('The Ice Age and Climate Change'), Festländer und Meere ('Continents and Seas'), Tierwanderungen in der Urwelt ('Animal Migrations in the Ancient World'), Der Stammbaum der Tiere ('The Family Tree of the Animals'), Der Stammbaum der Insekten ('The Family Tree of the Insects'), Bündnisse in der Natur ('Alliances in Nature'), Der Sieg des Lebens ('The Victory of Life'), Der Mensch der Zukunft ('The Man of the Future').

What distinguishes all these works is that they do not simply provide a basic knowledge of the results of the latest research, but rather that they do so as a presentation with a lyrical nature that does not confine itself to remaining stuck in clinical everyday concerns, but which rather sees the beauty and goodness and the enduring everywhere in the world, and happily does so in such a way as the excite and satisfy the reader. He brings the humanitarian spirit to the fore which permeates contemporary natural science, and is the pioneer and most important representative of "humanitarian science". While he willingly allows the specialist the right of way, he takes on the popularisation of science, ie. spreading the knowledge of nature in a clear language, indeed, even in an attractive form, and does not simply try to teach the laity, but also endeavours to act as a contact point in both directions between them and specialists of differing subjects. Bölsche himself has spoken beautifully of this important challenge for idealistic scientists in his study Populäre Wissenschaft ('Popular Science'), a script that was issued to each one of our 100,000 members.

Bölsche has also not been disloyal to the beauties of literature; indeed, as an author of natural history, he has also been accepted into the history of literature, an honour which comparatively few others have received. He has also served as a publisher for the works of other authors and poets, and is always listened to as a welcome speaker in the various parts of Germany, and understands how to explain and enlighten with concern to small and unobvious things. Kosmos knows of no worthier way of celebrating the 60th birthday of the master, than by issuing a beautifully produced jubilee edition of his first Kosmos book, Abstammung des Menschen. When this work first appeared in 1904, Kosmos was still in its early days but, also for the members that first joined later, this book has always raised the greatest interest. This success will still fill Bölsche himself with pure satisfaction, and so may the jubilee edition be an expression of the love and honour which is felt, especially within the circles of Kosmos.

An index of more of my translations of old Kosmos articles can be found at:

Kosmos Translations Archive

A number of Mesozoic (and post-Mesozoic) location summaries can be found at Localities.