Austrian zoologist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973 (1903–1989)
Achievements and contributions.
Books such as *King Solomon’s Ring* and *On Aggression* reached millions of readers, translating scientific findings about instinct and social behavior into accessible narratives that influenced both public understanding and interdisciplinary research.
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In recognition of his pioneering work, the Max Planck Society founded the Lorenz Institute for Behavioral Physiology, providing a permanent research facility that supported generations of ethologists and expanded experimental studies of animal cognition.
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In 1935 Konrad Lorenz’s experiments with newly hatched chicks demonstrated imprinting, showing that young animals form lasting bonds with the first moving object they encounter, a finding that has become foundational in developmental psychology and animal behavior studies.
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Harms and documented concerns.
During World War II Lorenz served as a military psychologist on a project in Poznań that investigated the biological characteristics of “German‑Polish half‑breeds,” a study aimed at supporting the Nazi racial policy of the era.
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In December 2015 the University of Salzburg formally stripped Lorenz of the honorary doctorate awarded in 1983, citing his Nazi Party membership and the use of his scientific work to advance National‑Socialist racial ideology.
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Letters preserved from Lorenz to his mentor Oskar Heinroth contain jokes that mock “Jewish characteristics,” evidence used by historians to illustrate his personal anti‑Semitic attitudes during the Nazi era.
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