Anders Jahan Retzius
Anders Jahan Retzius ( born October 3, 1742 in Kristianstad, † October 6, 1821 in Stockholm) was a Swedish naturalist. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Retz. ".
Like his son, the Swedish anthropologist and race watchers at the University of Lund, Anders Adolf Retzius, he is often called Anders Retzius.
Life
Retzius belonged to an old priestly family, whose name was derived from the lake Ressen in the province of Kalmar län. He studied from 1758 to 1759 at the University of Lund, but due to economic difficulties he had to temporarily give up and work as a pharmacist for college. After the resumption of his studies, he was appointed lecturer in chemistry in 1764 and 1766 he received the doctorate. In 1767 he was also professor of natural history. Between 1768 and 1772, he was employed by the Swedish Mining Office in Stockholm. At the same time he was commissioned to write a book on pharmacology, which was completed in 1769 ( Korrt begrepp af grunderna till Pharmacien ).
Back in Lund donated Retzius 1772 the local Physiographic Society, after he had been appointed in the absence of the adjunct in natural history already in 1771. The foundation of the company, he sparked new life in the field of natural sciences. Retzius in 1777 was appointed associate, full professor in 1787 and was followed by Erik Gustaf Lidbeck after his retirement in 1795 his post for natural history and economics. 1798, the teaching he was given in chemistry. 1821 began his official service pension, but he took care of for some time to the botanical garden of the University. In addition Retzius gave his collections to the University of prehistoric stone tools and natural preparations, which he obtained great reputation among his colleagues.
Linnaeus to Anders Retzius have considered one of his best apprentice. For example Retzius was the first who gave the zoological discoveries in Skåne peatlands attention. From his scientific work the following books may be cited as representative examples.
- Inledning till djurriket, introduction to the animal kingdom (Stockholm, 1772),
- Observationes Botanicae (Leipzig, 1778-1791 ),
- Florae Scandinaviae prodromus (Stockholm, 2 volumes, 1779),
- Försök till mineralrikets uppställning, attempt to divide the mineral kingdom (Lund, 1795; German translation 1798),
- Fauna Sueciae a Linné inchoatae pars I ( Leipzig, 1800),
In 1782 he became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, from 1778 the Royal Society of Science and Scholarship in Gothenburg and from 1812 the Royal Swedish Academy of Forestry and Agriculture. In addition, he was a member of several international scientific societies.
Anders Jahan Retzius was the father of the scientist Anders Adolf Retzius and Carl Gustaf Retzius.
Taxonomic ceremony
He was the genus Retzia Thunb honor. the plant family of Stilbaceae named.