Pieter Bleeker

Pieter Bleeker (* July 10, 1819 in Zaanstad, † January 24, 1878 in 's- Gravenhage ) was a Dutch doctor and ichthyologist, who has earned his work on the fishes of East Asia, great service.

From 1842 to 1860 Bleeker served in Indonesia as a medical officer in the Dutch army. During this time he devoted himself next to his medical practice also fishing and description of new species. He received many of the species first described by him from local fishermen. Over the years Bleeker but could build up an extensive network of contacts, which enabled him, even from different Dutch foreign bodies get on smaller islands fish specimens.

During his time in Indonesia Bleeker collected over 12,000 fish, of which the majority can still be seen in the National Museum of Natural History in Leiden today.

After his return to the Netherlands in 1860, he began work on his atlas Ichthyologique, the publication of his studies during his time in Indonesia, which should appear for the first time in 1862. This Bleeker using over 1500 pictures describes 511 new genera, including the genus Betta and 1925 new species.

Publications

  • Atlas ichtyologique des Indes rien tales néerlandaises. Publié sous les auspices du gouvernement colonial néerlandais. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA in 1977, 2 volumes, ISBN 0-876666365.
  • Ichthyologist
  • Netherlander
  • Member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences
  • Born in 1819
  • Died in 1878
  • Man
The Hague Physician Naturalis Integrated Authority File
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