Alexander von Nordmann (24 May 1803 in Ruotsinsalmi (now

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

– 25 June 1866 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

) was a 19th-century

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biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, who contributed to zoology, parasitology, botany and paleontology.Leikola A (2001
Nordmann, Alexander von (1803 - 1866) - eläintieteen professori, todellinen valtioneuvos
Kansallisbiografia. SKS Biografiakeskus

Biography

Nordmann was a son of an officer of the Russian army at the Ruotsinsalmi fortress, SE Finland. He started academic studies at the Imperial Academy of Turku, and at that time also acted as a curator of the entomological collections. In 1827 he continued studies in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with the famous parasitologist and anatomist

Karl Rudolphi Karl Asmund Rudolphi (14 July 1771 – 29 November 1832) was a Swedish-born German naturalist, who is credited with being the "father of helminthology". Life Rudolphi was born in Stockholm to German parents. He was awarded his PhD in 1793 an ...

. His first major work was a microscopical description of tens of parasitic worms and crustaceans from the eyes and other organs of fishes and other animals, including man. These included the enigmatic monogenean ''

Diplozoon paradoxum ''Diplozoon paradoxum'' is a flatworm (platyhelminth) from the class Monogenea. It is found in freshwater fishes in Asia and Europe and known for its complete monogamy. This parasite is commonly found on the gills of European cyprinid fishes. It ...

''. In 1832 he was appointed a professor (teacher) at the Lyceum Richelieu in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, Ukraine, and in 1834 also the director of the

Odessa Botanical Garden Odesa Botanical Garden is a botanical garden in Odesa, Ukraine. It is subordinated to Odesa University and consists of two territories: old territory and new territory. History The Botanical Garden in Odesa was established in 1820, on the initi ...

and the associated Central Gardening School. He participated in several expeditions and collected natural history specimens in southern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and adjacent regions. Later, in 1849, he became professor of Zoology and Botany at the Imperial Alexander University in Finland (

). He died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

on 25 June 1866.

Taxa

The

cladocera The Diplostraca or Cladocera, commonly known as water fleas, are a superorder of small crustaceans that feed on microscopic chunks of organic matter (excluding some predatory forms). Over 1000 species have been recognised so far, with many more ...

n '' Evadne nordmanni'', the Nordmann fir ''

Abies nordmanniana ''Abies nordmanniana'', the Nordmann fir or Caucasian fir, is a fir indigenous to the mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia and the Russian Caucasus. It occurs at altitudes of 900–2,200 m on mountains with pre ...

'' and at least seven other species and one genus ('' Nordmannia'') have been named after him. The standard author abbreviation Nordm. is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing a

botanical name A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the '' International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Intern ...

Major works

* ''Mikrographische Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte der wirbellosen Thiere I - II''. Berlin 1832 * ''Voyage dans la Russie méridionale et la Crimée, par la Hongrie, la Valachie et la Moldawie, exécuté en 1837, sous la Direction de M. Anatole de Demidoff. III. Observations sur la Faune pontique. Paris 1840 * ''Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres. III. Entozoa.'' Paris 1840 * ''Versuch einer Natur- und Entwickelungsgeschichte des Tergipes Edwardsii.'' - Mémoires présentés à l'Académie Impériale des Science de St. Petersbourg IV. St. Petersburg 1845 * ''Palaeontologie Südrusslands I - IV.'' 1858 - 1860

References

ALEXANDER DAVIDOVICH VON NORDMANN
cybertruffle.org.uk Finnish zoologists Finnish paleontologists Academic personnel of the University of Helsinki 1803 births 1866 deaths People from Kotka Botanists with author abbreviations {{zoologist-stub