Conrad Gessner

Conrad Gesner (born 16 or March 26, 1516 in Zurich, † December 13, 1565 ibid, also: Konrad Gessner, Conrad Gessner, Conrad Gessner, Conrad Gessner, Conrad Gesner of, Conrad Gesnerus ) was a Swiss physician, naturalist and philologist. He is considered one of the most famous and most important naturalists and scholars of Switzerland. Its importance is based, among other things, that he is no longer left to the traditional knowledge of antiquity and the Middle Ages, but his own observations of nature evaluated higher. The quality of the illustrations in his publications which distinguished him from his peers because he was not dependent on it for its above-average talent character to refer to professional artists for his book illustrations. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Gesner ".

Life

Conrad Gesner, the son of a furrier, after studying medicine was only a teacher, and later, from 1537, professor of Greek language in Lausanne and from 1541 professor of physics. In 1554 he became senior town physician in Zurich as the successor of the craft surgeons and theater maker Jakob Ruf. Conrad Gesner applies Ulisse Aldrovandi alongside one of the founders of modern zoology. He founded the first botanical garden in Zurich as well as a significant natural history collection, but was already lost shortly after his death.

Gesner died as well-known, even by the Catholic Emperor Ferdinand I respected scholar: During 1565 in the city of Zurich the plague raged, Gesner used the reformer Heinrich Bullinger (* 1504, † 1575), who had lost to the epidemic his wife and three daughters; Conrad Gesner also succumbed to the plague of 1565th In Zurich, a monument and the " Gessner Garden» remember his work, a medieval herb garden in the old Botanical Garden « zur Katz ».

Works

His most famous work is his four-volume Gesner Historia animalium, which was posthumously supplemented by a fifth volume. The work was published in 1551-1558, respectively, was published as " animal book" in 1565 by the printing Froschauer. 1669 to 1670 it was translated and published as General Thierbuch. For the distinction itself Gesner based on the specifications of Aristotle ( Historia animalium ) and Albertus Magnus ( De animalibus ). In the book, a number of animals are listed, are now regarded as mythical creatures such as the unicorn. Their existence is, however, considered critical. The work is divided into the following parts:

As a fifth band followed in 1587 a band to the snakes in the German translation in 1634, another insect from his estate. The folios are illustrated with woodcuts, including the world famous Rhinoceros by Albrecht Dürer and the giraffe from Bernard of Breydenbach Peregrinatio in terram sanctam. 65 panels put Gesner at yourself. The important botanical work Stirpium historia describes the importance of plant parts, especially the flowers and fruits for the classification of plants. In Corpus Venetum de Balneis ( 1553) he published analyzes of mineral springs. The work Thesaurus Euonymi Philiatri, ... ( 1552) introduced the knowledge of chemistry, pharmaceuticals and medicine.

In 1565 he wrote De Omni Rervm Fossilivm Genere a systematic classification of fossils and minerals in 15 classes. In addition, he is regarded as the first to describe the mineral cerussite. The iron ore siderite he described as " steel empire iron ".

In addition, Gesner became known with his Bibliotheca universalis. This work tries to cope with the obvious has become as a result of printing books and information flood. In the first, published in 1545 part bibliographierte Gesner around 10,000 works with content data; so he laid the foundations of the Bibliographierens. The second, in 1548 under the title immersive Pandectae Partitiorum universalium published part comprises 19 volumes in which the contents of books are organized by subject, beginning with the grammar in Volume 1 The 20th band. about medicine came from a lack of money - the work did not sell as well as expected - not out, and the second part was completed with the 21 band on theology. In his last decade of life, Conrad Gesner was planning an extensive botanical encyclopedia, the Historia Plantarum. The work remained unfinished; it was bought by Joachim Camerarius the Younger from the estate and completed in order reissued the book by Pietro Andrea Mattioli herbs. The book was printed from 1586 and was a huge success because it combined the medical writings Mattioli with the revolutionary plant representations Gesner. Gesner's Historia Plantarum was first published in 1750. His extensive plant work was published in 1972 and 1991 under the title " Historia Plantarum Conradi Gesneri " again.

  • The ... part of the delicious and precious treasure Euonymi Philiatri / first place, described in Latin by Euonymum Philiatrum VND neuwlich verteutscht by Joannem Rudolphum Landsberger. Gessner, Zurich 1583 Digitized edition of the University and State Library Dusseldorf
  • Conradi Gesneri Opera Botanica: Per Duo saecula Desiderata Vitam Et Avctoris Operis Historiam Cordi Librvm Qvintvm Cvm Adnotationibvs Gesneri In Totvm OPVs Vt Et Wolphii Fragmentvm Historiae Plantarvm Gesnerianae Adivnctis Indicibvs Iconvm Tam Olim Editarvm Qvam Nvnc Prodevntivm Cvm Figvris Vltra CCCC. Minori formae partim Ligno Excisis partim Aeri Inscvlptis Complectentia. Seligmann / Fleischmann, Norimbergae 1754 ( Digitized edition )

Honors

Charles Plumier named in his honor, a genus of the plant family Gesnera the Gesneriad ( Gesneriaceae ). Linnaeus later changed the name in Gesneria.

The 50-franc note of the sixth CHF banknote series from 1976 was dedicated to Conrad Gesner.

Reprints

  • Heinrich Zoller, Martin Steinmann (ed.): Conrad Gesner: Conradi Gesneri Historia plantarum. Total output. Urs Graf Verlag, Dietikon Zurich 1987/1991
  • Konrad Gessner: Gesnerus De Serpentibus Or Snake book ... propagated by ... Jacobum Carronum and brought into this order: anitzo but with sonderem diligence verteutschet, Frankfurt am Main (with Wilhelm Serlin ) in 1662 or 1671, reprint 1994 Hannover
  • Reinhard Oberschelp: Old bird pictures: From the old stock of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library. ISBN 3-8271-8834-2. Colored figure, Latinized name to " Conrad Gesnerus ": p 16 Waldrapp ( Erstveröff. 1551-1558 ); P. 17 Waxwing ibid.
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