Johan Zoëga (7 October 1742 - 29 December 1788) was a Danish

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. Johan Zoëga ''Dansk biografisk Lexikon '' Retrieved December 1, 2020

Biography

Johan Zoëga was born at Ravsted in

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

. His father Poul Christian Zoëga was a parish priest. His cousin was the

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Jörgen Zoega. He studied botany at the University of Uppsala where he was a pupil of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

. He contributed to a work by Linnaeus who named the plant genus Zoegea after him. For some years he helped Georg Christian Oeder as his assistant at the

University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden The University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden (), usually referred to simply as Copenhagen Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of 10 hectares and is particularly noted for its ext ...

. When the position was revoked in 1770, he applied to the central administration and in 1771 became secretary of the Department of the College of Finance. In 1773 he was a clerk in the Funen office, in 1779 a commissioner in the Chamber of Finance (''Rentekammeret'') and in 1784 a deputy in the College of Finance (''Finanskollegiet''). As a botanist, Zoëga wrote ''Flora Islandica'' (Soroe, 1772, Kopenhagen et Leipzig 1775)

References

External links

Georg Brandes' Holberg-bog: Biografier fra Holberg til Rahbek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoega, Johan Danish entomologists 18th-century Danish botanists 1742 births 1788 deaths People from the Duchy of Schleswig Scientists from Denmark–Norway