SEIDL, Ferdo
* 10. 3. 1856, Novo mesto, Slovenia
† 1. 12. 1942, Novo mesto, Slovenia
meteorologist, seismologist, geologist
S. attended the gymnasium in his hometown and studied natural sciences at Graz University between 1874-80. From 1881 to 1887 he was a teacher at the civic school in Krško, at the Realschule in Gorizia (1887-1915), and following his retirement, taught for some time in Novo mesto. In 1919 he refused the chair of geology at the newly-funded University of Ljubljana due to his health condition.
In his spare time, S. was actively engaged in the fields of meteorology, geology and seismology. His papers on the decline of temperature with increase in altitude, the Karst bora, the foehn wind etc. attracted much attention. His most relevant paper in this field is Das Klima von Krain from 1902. Together with Albin → Belar he investigated the Ljubljana earthquake of 1895 and sent a report to the Seismology Commission at the Academy of Science and Arts in Vienna. He collected and recapitulated information from various reference sources on seismological phenomena within the Slovenian territory in the second half of 19th century. His hypothesis from 1895 that climate factors might provoke seismic shocks stirred much interest.
After seismology, S. started to research geology, which during his studies in Vienna did not have a chair. In 1919 he used geological indicators in determining the border between the newly-established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Italy. With a combination of meteorological, geological and actual perspectives he illustrated the significance of an interdisciplinary approach, which was much later adopted as a methodology.
