Tobías Lasser

Tobías Lasser (May 24 1911 – May 25, 2006), was a recognized Venezuelan botanist, being a fundamental pillar in the creation of the Botanical Garden of Caracas, the School of Biology and the Faculty of Sciences of the Central University of Venezuela. He was born in Agua Larga, Falcón State, Venezuela.

Career
In 1935 obtained the title of medical surgeon in the Medicine Faculty of the UCV, and in 1941 a Masters in Sciences in the University of Michigan, U.S..

Lasser was individual of number and President of the Venezuelan Academy of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, and president of the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences. Between the distinctions that received in Venezuela and other countries, emphasize: The decorations in First Class, Liberator and Francisco de Miranda, the Orders: Andrés Bello, Jose Maria Vargas, Diego de Losada, June 27 of the Ministry of Education of Venezuela, and the medals of the good citizen of Pro Venezuela, Francisco Herrera Luque, and Marshal Juan Crisóstomo Falcón.

Internationally, received the order Commander of the british Empire, the Orange Order in Nassau, and the Order Sigma XI in the United States. Additionally exerted an important activity like director-publisher and founder of thr publications: Flora of Venezuela and Botanical Acta Venezueleica, and like author of several books and scientific articles such as: General botany, Our Destiny In front of the Nature, Raw material, Analytical key of the families of the Traqueophyta of Venezuela, also wrote poetry, reunited in the works: Shades of the Memory and Poems in Flower.

The Field work was one of the favorite and fruitful activities of this scientist, he made botanical explorations by Venezuela, and collaborated in the finding of several species, in an expedition to Panama characterized a new variety of plant, known like the Coccoloba lasseri.

Lasser also supported the formation of nongovernmental organizations for the protection of the nature, one of them is the Federation of Organizations and Environmentalist Meetings of Venezuela, founded in 1978, that groups 66 Non-governmental organizations.

Tobías Lasser died in Caracas at the age of 95.

Tobías Lasser Publications

 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. 1945: “Exploradores botánicos en el estado Mérida”. Impresos Unidos. Caracas – Venezuela.
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. 1954: “Apuntes sobre la vida y obra de Henri Pittier”. Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales. 13(76):1-5.
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. 1954: “Clave analítica de las familias de las traqueófitas de Venezuela”. Tipografia Americana. Caracas - Venezuela (también publicado en Boletín de la Academia de Ciencias Física Matemáticas y Naturales Nº 48. Caracas - Venezuela).
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. 1955: “Nuestro destino frente a nuestra naturaleza”. Biblioteca de cultural rural. Colección Recursos Naturales Renovables. Ministerio de Agricultura y Cría. Caracas – Venezuela.
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. 1967: “Información personal acerca del A. dubius a la Sra. Irma De Sola Ricardo”. En: Contribución al estudio de los planos de Caracas. Caracas – Venezuela.
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. 1970: “Materia prima”. Graficas Continente. Caracas – Venezuela.
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. 1971: “Los viajeros científicos en Venezuela”. Boletín de la Asociación Cultural Humboldt. Nº 6. Caracas – Venezuela.
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. 1971: “La revolución biológica”. Acta Botanica Venezuelica. 13(1-4)9-22.
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS., BRAUN, AUGUST. Y STEYERMARK, JULIAN A. 1974: “Catálogo de las plantas que cercenen el Jardín Botánico”. Ministerio de Agricultura y Cría.
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. Y VARESCHI, VOLKMAR. 1957. “La vegetación de los Medanos de Coro”. Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales. Caracas – Venezuela.
 * LASSER, TOBÍAS. Y VARESCHI, VOLKMAR. 1959. “La vegetación del lago de asfalto de Guanaco”. Acta Biologica Venezuelica. Caracas – Venezuela.
 * PITTIER, HENRI FRANÇOIS., BADILLO FRANCERI, VICTOR M., LASSER, TOBÍAS., SCHNEE, L. Y LUCES FEBRES, ZORAIDA. 1945-1947: “Catálogo de la flora Venezolana”. Litografía y Tipografía Vargas. Caracas – Venezuela.
 * STEYERMARK, JULIAN A. Y LASSER, TOBÍAS. 1981: “A new species of Eugenia (Myrtaceae) from Venezuela”. Britonia. 33(1):25-27.

Source

 * Boletín Digital Universitario
 * UCV Sin Fronteras, a magazine of the Central University of Venezuela