Georg Marcgrave (originally german: Georg Marggraf, also spelled ''"Marcgraf" "
Markgraf
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...
"'') (1610 – 1644) was a German naturalist and astronomer, whose posthumously published ''Historia Naturalis Brasiliae'' was a major contribution to early modern science.
Life
Born in
Liebstadt
Liebstadt is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated 12 km southwest of Pirna, and 23 km southeast of Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, l ...
in the
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz.
In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...
, Marcgrave studied
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
,
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, and
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
until 1636 when he journeyed to
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
In 1637, he was appointed astronomer of a company being formed to sail to the
Dutch Brazil
Dutch Brazil ( nl, Nederlands-Brazilië), also known as New Holland ( nl, Nieuw-Holland), was a colony of the Dutch Republic in the northeastern portion of modern-day Brazil, controlled from 1630 to 1654 during Dutch colonization of the Americas ...
. He was accompanied by
Willem Piso
Willem Piso (in Dutch Willem Pies, in Latin Gulielmus Piso, also called Guilherme Piso in Portuguese) (1611 in Leiden – 28 November 1678 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch physician and naturalist who participated as an expedition doctor in D ...
, a physician. He afterward entered the service of Dutch Brazil's governor,
Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen
John Maurice of Nassau (Dutch: ''Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen''; German: ''Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen''; Portuguese: ''João Maurício de Nassau-Siegen''; 17 June 1604 – 20 December 1679), called "the Brazilian" for his fruitful period a ...
, whose patronage provided him with the means of exploring a considerable part of Brazil.
He arrived in Brazil in early 1638 and undertook the first zoological, botanical, and astronomical expedition there, exploring various parts of the colony to study its natural history and geography. Traveling later to the coast of
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
, he fell a victim to the climate.
[
]
Publications
His large map of Brazil, an important event in cartography
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
was published in 1647. According to Cuvier, Marcgrave was the most able and most precise of all those who described the natural history of remote countries during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
He was the co-author (with Willem Piso
Willem Piso (in Dutch Willem Pies, in Latin Gulielmus Piso, also called Guilherme Piso in Portuguese) (1611 in Leiden – 28 November 1678 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch physician and naturalist who participated as an expedition doctor in D ...
) of Historia Naturalis Brasiliae
''Historia Naturalis Brasiliae'' ( en, Brazilian Natural History), originally written in Latin, is the first scientific work on the natural history of Brazil, written by Dutch naturalist Willem Piso and containing research done by the German ...
,Facsimile of original 1648 manuscript
/ref> a single volume work on the botany and zoology of Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, that has had lasting influence in the history of science
The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal.
Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...
.
References
External links
Historia naturalis Brasiliae on Biodiversity Heritage Library
Account of Piso and Marcgrave
to promote sale of a digitalized version of ''Historia Naturalis Brasiliae''.
Further reading
* Darmstaedter, L. (1928) ''Georg Marcgrave und Wilhelm Piso, die ersten Erforscher Brasiliens'', Velhagen Klasings Monatshefte. 1928. pp. 649–654.
* Holthuis, L.B. (1991) ''Marcgraf's (1648) Brazilian Crustacea'' Zoologische Verhandelingen
''Zoologische Verhandelingen'' was a Dutch scientific journal covering research in zoology. It was published between 1948 and 2002 by the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is ...
, Vol. 268 p. 1-12
PDF
* Whitehead, P.J.P. (1979) "The biography of Georg Marcgraf (1610-1643/4) by his brother Christian, translated by James Petiver
James Petiver (c. 1665 – c. 2 April 1718) was a London apothecary, a fellow of the Royal Society as well as London's informal Temple Coffee House Botany Club, famous for his specimen collections in which he traded and study of botany and entom ...
" in ''J. Soc. Biblphy nat. Hist.'', 9:301-314.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcgrave, Georg
1610 births
1644 deaths
People from Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge
People from the Electorate of Saxony
17th-century German astronomers
German naturalists
German expatriates in Brazil
Sailors on ships of the Dutch West India Company
German explorers
Explorers of South America
17th-century Dutch cartographers
People of Dutch Brazil