Searching for the "von": Details on the Elevation of Julius von Haast to the Austrian Nobility

This paper deals with a detailed aspect of Julius von Haast's biography: his elevation to the Austrian nobility in 1875. Haast, who by this time was living in New Zealand, was knighted by Emperor Franz Joseph I because of his outstanding services to the exploration of New Zealand and his exceptional donations of objects to Austria and its natural history collections (especially three moa skeletons). Henceforth, he was entitled to style himself “von Haast”. Based on the archival documents in the Austrian State Archives (repository of aristocratic files), the historical process that led to the award of the title of nobility to Julius von Haast is examined more closely.
This talk was presented by Prof Dr Martin Krenn at 'Haast Symposium: Celebrating the Life of Sir Julius von Haast' on 1 May 2022.