Franz Hladnik

Franz de Paula Hladnik (29 March 1773 – 25 November 1844) was a Carniolan botanist and schoolmaster.

During the French annexation under the Illyrian Provinces, Hladnik was appointed professor of botany and natural history at the Central School of Ljubljana, and presented with a piece of land to be laid out for the cultivation of the flora of Carniola.

While occupied with his botanical garden, he also delivered lectures on botany and spent his holidays for thirty years in researching the crownland of Carniola.

Among Hladnik's pupils was Alexander Skofitz, the founder of the Österreichische botanische Zeitschrift (Austrian Botanical Journal).

He did not publish any scientific works; his manuscripts now in possession of the Carniola Historical Society are written in Latin, German, French, and Slovenian.