Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim
Johann Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim ( born October 13, 1771 in Waldheim, Saxony, † October 18, 1853 in Moscow ) was a German zoologist, anatomist, entomologist, paleontologist, geologist and librarian.
Life and work
Fischer was born the son of a linen-weaver, visited the school in Mainz and studied medicine in Leipzig. He graduated in 1798 with a doctorate to the Dr. med. Subsequently, Fischer returned to Mainz, where he was teacher of natural history and librarian at the Central School. He also served as a councilor in the Mainz local politics.
He traveled with his friend Alexander von Humboldt to Vienna and Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier, the founder of scientific paleontology.
His scientific interests since 1795 initially mainly of zoology. Several papers on wide-ranging topics of the swim bladder of the fish up to the anatomy of the Makis. Even with the letterpress printing and manuscript studies he worked and published, among others, research on Johannes Gutenberg.
His zoological work won him a reputation in 1804 to the chair of Natural History in Moscow, where he became director of the Natural History Cabinet of the Academy and also was appointed to the Imperial Russian State Council. In August 1805 he founded the Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou, its vice president, he remained a long time.
In Russia, he extended his research in paleontology and geology. He was the first to put large-scale scientific studies on the geology of Russia and described many paleontological evidence. After the great fire in 1812 which destroyed much of the city of Moscow and all natural science collections, Fischer was able to establish and expand the museum again.
His son Alexander Fischer von Waldheim ( born April 24, 1803 in Mainz, † July 13, 1884 in Stepankowo in Moscow) was known as a botanist, and his grandson Alexander Alexandrovich Fischer von Waldheim was as a botanist.
Honors
For his services to the scientific study of Russia Fischer was appointed State Council, charged with the nickname " Waldheim " to the nobility and awarded the Commandeurkreuz of St. Vladimir Order. Carl Hermann Samuel named the mineral Al3 ( PO4 ) 2 ( OH) 3 × (now usually known as Wavellite ) 5H2O in his honor as Fischerit.
In 1815 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina. In 1852 he was made an honorary member of the Nassau Association for Natural History.
Writings (selection )
- Essay on the swim bladder of fish, Leipzig 1795
- Mémoire pour servir d' introduction à un ouvrage sur la respiration des animaux, Paris 1798
- J. Ingenhousz translated on plant nutrition and soil fertility from English and annotated by Gotthelf Fischer. In addition to an introduction on some items of plant physiology by FA von Humboldt, Leipzig 1798
- Description of some typographical rarities. In addition to the invention Beyträgen history of the art of printing, Mainz and Nuremberg 1800
- Natural History fragments, Frankfurt am Main 1801
- Description typographical rarities and remarkable manuscripts in addition to Beyträgen invention history of the art of printing, Mainz 1801
- Essai sur les monuments typographiques de Jean Gutenberg, Mayençais, inventeur de l' imprimerie, Mainz 1801/1802
- The National Museum of Natural History in Paris, 1802
- Lectures on comparative anatomy, Georges Cuvier's German translation of the lectures, Brunswick 1801-1802
- Lettre au citoyen E. Geoffroy ... sur une nouvelle espèce de Loris: accompagnée de la description d'un craniomètre de nouvelle Invention, Mainz 1804
- Anatomy of Maki and their relatives the animals, Frankfurt am Main 1804
- Tableaux de synoptiques zoognosie, 1805
- Demidoff Museum, ou catalog raisonné of systématique et curiosités etc. donnés a l' université de Moscou par Paul de Demidoff, Moscow 1806
- Muséum d' Histoire naturelle de l' université de Moscou impériale, 1806
- Notices sur les fossil de Moscou, 1809-1811
- Notices d'un animal fossil de Sibérie, 1811
- Onomasticon du Système d' Oryctognoise, 1811
- Zoognosia tabulis synopticis illustrata, in usum prälectionum Academiae Imperialis Medico - Chirurgicae Mosquentis edita, Moscow 1813
- Observations sur quelques Diptères de Russie, 1813
- Adversaria zoologica, 1817-1823
- Entomographie de la Russie, Moscow 1820-1851
- Prodromus Petromatognosiae animalium systematicae, continens bibliographiam animalium Fossilium, Moscow 1829-1832
- Oryctographie du gouvernement de Moscou, 1830-1837
- Bibliographia Palaeonthologica Animalium Systematica, Moscow 1834
- Some words to the Mainzer, in the solemnity of the inventor of printing, Johann Gutenberg in Mainz to be erected monument, Moscow 1836
- Recherches sur les ossements fossil de la Russie, Moscow 1836-1839
- Spicilegium entomographiae Rossicae, Moscow 1844