Alexander von Frantzius (10 June 1821, in Danzig – 18 July 1877) was a German physician and naturalist. He studied medicine at the universities of Heidelberg, Erlangen,

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...

and Berlin, where in 1846, he obtained his doctorate.ADB:Frantzius, Alexander von
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Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

In 1853, with fellow naturalist, Karl Hoffmann, he journeyed to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, where he would spend the next 15 years conducting geographical, climatological,

ethnographical Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

and zoological research.JSTOR Global Plants
biography Many of the zoological specimens he collected were sent to Jean Cabanis at the Berlin Museum. After arriving in Costa Rica, he settled in Alajuela (1854), later setting up a successful

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...

, an institution that eventually became known as the ''Botica Francesa''. Here he employed José Castulo Zeledón as an assistant. He returned to Germany in 1868, settling in Heidelberg, from where he served as secretary of the ''Gesellschaft für Anthropologie'' (German Anthropological Society). In July 1877, he died in Freiburg from lung disease. He is commemorated in the names of a number of animals, including the

prong-billed barbet The prong-billed barbet (''Semnornis frantzii'') is a distinctive, relatively large-billed bird native to humid highland forest of Costa Rica and western Panama. Taxonomy and systematics The prong-billed barbet was traditionally placed in fam ...

''Semnornis frantzii'', the

fiery-billed aracari The fiery-billed aracari or fiery-billed araçari (''Pteroglossus frantzii'') is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. Taxonomy and systematics Major taxonomic systems have long treate ...

''Pteroglossus frantzii'', the mountain elaenia ''Elaenia frantzii'' and the ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush ''Catharus frantzii''. The botanical genus ''

Frantzia ''Frantzia'' is a genus of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae containing around 6 species of herbaceous climbers with tuberous roots. All members grow in forest and secondary scrub in Central America where tacaco ('' Frantzia tacaco'') is a widely c ...

'' ( Cucurbitaceae) was named in his honor by

Henri Pittier Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

Bibliography

* ''Aristoteles' Vier Bücher ueber die Theile der Thiere: Griechisch und Deutsch und mit sacherklärenden Anmerkungen'', Leipzig: W. Engelmann,1853.Biodiversity Heritage Library
Aristoteles' Vier Bücher ueber die Theile der Thiere Griechisch und Deutsch und mit sacherklärenden Anmerkungen

References

1821 births 1877 deaths German naturalists 19th-century German physicians Prussian physicians People from the Province of Prussia Health in Costa Rica Naturalists from the Kingdom of Prussia Expatriates in Costa Rica {{Germany-med-bio-stub