Georg Rudolf Boehmer (German: Böhmer) (1 October 1723 – 4 April 1803) was a German

botanist 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 wo ...

and physician born in

Liegnitz Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 a ...

. He studied botany at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

under Christian Gottlieb Ludwig (1709–1773). In 1752, he succeeded Abraham Vater (1684–1751) as professor of botany and

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, where in 1782 became a professor of

therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

. During his career he also had part-time duties as

city physician City physician (German: ; , , from Latin ) was a historical title in the Late Middle Ages for a physician appointed by the city council. The city physician was responsible for the health of the population, particularly the poor, and the sanitary ...

() in

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

, later serving a similar function in

Kemberg Kemberg () is a town in Wittenberg district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The town lies on the north edge of the Düben Heath Nature Park. Subdivisions The town Kemberg consists of the following ''Ortschaften'' or municipal districts:

. Among his publications was a five-volume work on natural history called ''Bibliotheca scriptorum historiae naturalis''. The plant genus ''

Boehmeria ''Boehmeria'' is a genus of 47 species of flowering plants in the nettle family Urticaceae. Of the species, 33 are indigenous to the Old World and 14 to the New World; no species is indigenous to both the Old and New Worlds. The species include h ...

'' from the family

Urticaceae The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus ''Urtica''. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus ''Urtica'', ramie (''Boehmeri ...

is named in his honor. He is also known as an

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Selected publications

* ''Lexicon rei Herbaria'' * ''Technische Geschichte der Pflanzen'' (Technical history of plants) * ''Bibliotheca scriptorum historiae naturalis'', five volumes 1785–1789. * ''Systematisch-literarische Handbuch der Naturgeschichte, Ökonomie und anderer damit verwandter Wissenschaften und Künste'' (Systematic and literary handbook of natural history, economics and related sciences and arts).

References

* This article incorporates translated text from an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

, whose sources includ
ADB:Böhmer, Georg Rudolf
at

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 ...

*Larousse, P. 1865-1876: iographien''Grand Dict. du XIX. Siècle'' 2:856 * Rose, H. J. 1850: ''New General Biographical Dictionary'' 4: 354-355

Notes

18th-century German botanists German entomologists People from Legnica Academic staff of the University of Wittenberg 1723 births 1803 deaths {{Germany-botanist-stub