Bartsch, Paul (1871–1960)

German-born US naturalist. He represented the Smithsonian Institution in numerous expeditions to collect zoological data, and was an authority on molluscs.

Bartsch was born at Breslau, Silesia, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), and was educated at the State University of Iowa. His first appointment was as assistant curator of marine invertebrates at the US National Museum, in Washington, DC. He joined the Smithsonian Institution in 1896 and stayed until his retirement in 1942; he was also professor of zoology at George Washington University (from 1899) and lecturer on medical zoology at Howard University.

During World War I, he invented a gas detector for use in chemical warfare. He also organized the first Boy Scout troop in Washington.