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World's First Speleological Institute: The Emil Racovita Speleologycal Institute

May 22, 2019

Romanian biologist Emil Racovita founded the world's first Speleological Institute on 26 April 1920.

Romanian biologist and speleologist Emil Racoviță founded the world's first Speleological Institute on 26 April 1920 (later named The Emil Racoviță Speleologic Institute), according to the World Record Academy.

CLUJ-NAPOCA, Romania --Romanian biologist and speleologist Emil Racovițăfounded the world's first Speleological Institute on 26 April 1920 (later named The Emil Racoviță Speleologic Institute ), according to the World Record Academy.

The World's first biologist to study the arctic life, Emil Racovitais considered to be, together with René Jeannel, one of the founders of biospeleology . He was particularly interested in isopoda, of which he discovered many.

As a promising young scientist, Racoviță was selected to be part of an international team that started out on a research expedition to Antarctica, aboard the ship Belgica .

Romanian biologist Racoviță was the first researcher to collect botanical and zoological samples from areas beyond the Antarctic Circle.

The results of his research were published in 1900, under the title La vie des animaux et des plantes dans l'Antarctique ("The life of animals and plants in Antarctica"). A year after his return, Racoviță was appointed director of the Banyuls-sur-Mer resort and editor of the review Archives de zoologie expérimentale et générale .

Emil Racoviță continued his research, contributing to speleology and exploring over 1,400 caves in France, Spain, Algeria, Italy, and Slovenia. He is considered to be, together with René Jeannel, one of the founders of biospeleology.

In 1919, Racoviță became head of the Biology Department at the Upper Dacia University (now the Babeș-Bolyai University) in Cluj. He founded the world's first Speleological Institute on 26 April 1920 there.

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