Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider (18 January 1750 – 12 January 1822) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
and
naturalist.
Biography
Schneider was born at
Collm in
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
. In 1774, on the recommendation of
Christian Gottlob Heine
Christian Gottlob Heyne (; 25 September 1729 – 14 July 1812) was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History.
...
, he became secretary to the famous Strasbourg scholar
Richard François Brunck, and in 1811 became professor of ancient languages and eloquence at
Breslau (chief librarian, 1816) where he died in 1822.
Works
Of his numerous works the most important was his ''Kritisches griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch'' (1797–1798), the first independent work of the kind since
Stephanus's ''Thesaurus'', and the basis of
F. Passow Franz Ludwig Carl Friedrich Passow (20 September 1786 – 11 March 1833) was a German classics, classical scholar and lexicographer.
Biography
He was born at Ludwigslust in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In 1807 he was appointed to the professo ...
's and all succeeding Greek lexicons (including, therefore, the contemporary standard ''
A Greek-English Lexicon
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
''). A special improvement was the introduction of words and expressions connected with natural history and science.
In 1801 he corrected and expanded re-published
Marcus Elieser Bloch
Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) was a German physician and naturalist who is best known for his contribution to ichthyology through his multi-volume catalog of plates illustrating the fishes of the world. Brought up in a Hebrew-speaking Jewish ...
's ''Systema Ichthyologiae iconibus cx illustratum'', a famous catalog of
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
es with beautiful illustrations that is cited (as Bloch and Schneider, 1801) as the taxonomy authority for many
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of fish.
The scientific writings of ancient authors especially attracted him. He published editions of
Aelian Aelian or Aelianus may refer to:
* Aelianus Tacticus, Greek military writer of the 2nd century, who lived in Rome
* Casperius Aelianus, Praetorian Prefect, executed by Trajan
* Claudius Aelianus, Roman writer, teacher and historian of the 3rd centu ...
, ''De natura animalium'';
Nicander
Nicander of Colophon ( grc-gre, Νίκανδρος ὁ Κολοφώνιος, Níkandros ho Kolophṓnios; fl. 2nd century BC), Greek poet, physician and grammarian, was born at Claros (Ahmetbeyli in modern Turkey), near Colophon, where his famil ...
, ''Alexipharmaca'' and ''Theriaca''; the ''Scriptores rei rusticae'';
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
, ''Historia animalium'' and ''Politica'';
Epicurus
Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...
, ''Physica'' and ''Meteorologica'';
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...
's ''
Historia plantarum
Historia may refer to:
* Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal
* Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel
* Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics
* ...
'', ''Eclogae physicae'';
Oppian
Oppian ( grc, Ὀππιανός, ; la, Oppianus), also known as Oppian of Anazarbus, of Corycus, or of Cilicia, was a 2nd-century Greco-Roman poet during the reign of the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, who composed the ''Halieutica'', a fi ...
, ''Halieutica'' and ''Cynegetica''; the complete works of
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
and
Vitruvius
Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...
; the ''Argonautica'' of the so-called ''Orpheus'' (for which
Ruhnken nicknamed him "Orpheomastix"); an essay on the life and writings of
Pindar
Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...
and a collection of his fragments. His ''Eclogae physicae'' is a selection of extracts of various length from Greek and Latin writers on scientific subjects, containing the original text and commentary, with essays on natural history and science in ancient times.
Legacy
Schneider is commemorated in the
scientific name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
of a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of lizard, ''
Eumeces schneiderii
''Eumeces schneiderii'', commonly known as Schneider's skink or the Berber skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Central Asia, Western Asia, and North Africa. There are five recognized subspecies.
Ety ...
''.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Schneider, J.G.T.", p. 237).]
Works
* ''Handwörterbuch der griechischen Sprache.'' Vogel, Leipzig 1828.
* ''Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch.'' Hahn, Leipzig 1819.
* ''Kritisches griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch.'' Frommann, Jena, Leipzig 1805/06.
* ''
Eclogae physicae, ex scriptoribus praecipue Graecis excerptae.'' Frommann, Jena, Leipzig 1800.
* ''
Historiae amphibiorum naturalis et literariae.'' Frommann, Jena 1799–1801.
* ''Kritisches griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch.'' Frommann, Jena, Züllichau 1797.
* ''
Amphibiorum physiologiae specimen.'' Apitz, Frankfurt (Oder) 1790–97.
* ''Ad reliqua librorum Friderici II. et Alberti Magni capita commentarii ...'' Müller, Leipzig 1789.
* ''Zweyter Beytrag zur Naturgeschichte der Schildkröten.'' Müller, Leipzig 1789.
* ''Erster Beytrag zur Naturgeschichte der Schildkröten.'' Müller, Leipzig 1787.
* ''
Sammlung vermischter Abhandlungen zur Aufklärung der Zoologie und der Handlungsgeschichte.'' Unger, Berlin 1784.
* ''Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Schildkröten.'' Müller, Leipzig 1783.
* ''Ichthyologiae veterum specimina.'' Winter, Frankfurt (Oder) 1780.
* ''
Synonymia piscium Graeca et Latina emendata, aucta atque illustrata'' 1789
* ''Anmerkungen über den Anakreon.'' Crusius, Leipzig 1770.
* ''Neues Magazin für Liebenhaber der Entomologie''. Strasland 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794 >>?
See also
*
Comparison of Ancient Greek dictionaries The following tables compare Ancient Greek dictionaries, in any language.
Main lexicographical works
Translated editions of dictionaries
Etymological and other dictionaries
References
* Panagiotis Filos (2018) The Brill Dictionary of Ancien ...
References
Sources
* This work in turn cites:
**F. Passow, ''Opuscula academica'' (1835);
**
C. Bursian, ''Geschichte der classischen Philologie in Deutschland'' (1883).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Johann Gottlob
German taxonomists
1750 births
1822 deaths
German entomologists
German herpetologists
German ichthyologists
German lexicographers
German classical scholars
People from the Electorate of Saxony
Leipzig University alumni
University of Göttingen alumni
University of Strasbourg alumni
European University Viadrina faculty
University of Breslau faculty
18th-century German zoologists
19th-century German zoologists