Johann Baptist von Spix
Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix ( born February 9, 1781 Hochstadt an der Aisch, † May 13, 1826 in Munich) was a German scientist.
Life
Johann Baptist Spix was born in Hochstadt an der Aisch, the seventh of eleven children. Since 2004 a small museum is housed in its birthplace. Little is known about his childhood. He studied philosophy and a doctorate in Bamberg. In Würzburg he studied theology, but broke under the influence of Friedrich Schelling studying theology and studied medicine and natural sciences. He received his doctorate for a second time. Transition, he was a resident doctor in Bamberg.
Probably due to the influence of Schelling, who is now in Munich reformed the Academy under Count Montgelas, Spix was called to Munich. King Maximilian I of Bavaria granted him a scholarship to learn the modern methods of Zoology in Paris. Spix took the opportunity to marine biology field trips and first scientific studies.
Spix was appointed in 1810 to 1811 and adjunct curator of the now independent zoological collections in Munich and had the task of these re-arrange on scientific principles and developed. In this appeal the Zoological State Collection Munich goes back. A 1811 published, comprehensive work on the history and fundamentals of Zoological Systematics brought him general scientific recognition. In 1813 he was appointed a full member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.
Johann Baptist Spix joined in 1817 by the Austrian expedition to Brazil, then traveled but with the younger botanist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius alone until 1820 in Rio de Janeiro through the interior of Brazil to Goiás and Rio São Francisco. Between 1819 and 1820 sailed Spix and Martius also the Amazon. Some of them parted to explore in the given time as much of the country.
From this expedition Spix and Martius brought back a collection of 6,500 plants, 2,700 insects, 85 mammals, 350 birds, 150 amphibians and reptiles and 116 fish to Germany. The collected animals are an important foundation of today's zoological collections in Munich. The numerous ethnographic Collectibles (dance masks, Federschmuk, weapons, utensils ) are located in the Museum of Ethnology in Munich. In addition, Spix and Martius also brought coins, minerals, fossils and much more to Munich.
After returning from Brazil Spix was ennobled and knighted. In addition, he was inducted into various academic societies, received an annuity and many honors. He could an estate near Lindau on Lake Constance purchase ( Alwind ), but which he could barely use. He was probably very weak health due to a tropical disease, but was still able to publish some works in which he described many species scientifically. In particular, Spix wrote ( with Martius ) the work trip to Brazil ... where the journey has been described. The first band he could even finish to the pressure, the second and third band was continued by Martius (partly using the records of Spix ). Overall, the work was published in three volumes, 1823, 1828 and 1831 with a " satin ribbon ."
Spix died on 13 May 1826 in Munich, probably due to a tropical disease. He was buried at the old Munich South Cemetery, the original tomb no longer exists today.
Scientific Importance
Due to his early death Spix was unable to complete the scientific processing of much of its material. For example, put Louis Agassiz continues the classification begun by the Spix found by him freshwater fish in Brazil and found in this way to one of his most important research areas of ichthyology. The insects were edited by Maximilian Perty. Johann Georg Wagler, the wizard of Spix, described the Spix's Macaw in his work Monographia Psittacorum and named the species after his late teacher. Wagler wrote with Spix, a work about the turtles and described using the records of the snakes Spix from Brazil.
A variously been applied criticism of Spix ' work is the fact that he and Martius brought two Indian children at the age of about 10 to 14 years after Munich. This can be understood only from the mind of that time out. The two sons were named Yuri and John and Miranha or Isabella. The name Yuri and Miranha call the people they came from, we do not know their actual names ( Isabella and John were the Christian names on which they were baptized ). Since they were of different ethnicities, they could not communicate with each other to. Despite medical care both died soon in Munich.
Spix has been variously referred to as the " Bavarian Humboldt". The scientific importance of Spix was especially by the former director of the Zoological State Collection of Ernst Josef Fittkau (1927-2012) recognized in various publications, after he stood strong in previous years in the shadow of Martius, who lived after the trip to Brazil many years in Munich as a professor and taught. In recent years, the Spix 's services have been increasingly observed outside of zoology, as in anthropology and by the discovery of the Santana Formation, now a World Heritage Site.
Since 1981, the knights - of - Spix - Medal to particularly deserving benefactors and patrons of the Zoological State Collection Munich is awarded.