Julius Philipp Benjamin von Rohr (1737–1793) was a Prussian-born botanist and plant collector, naturalist, medical doctor and watercolourist, in Danish service who sent many plants to Europe from South America and the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
. He collected male ''
Myristica fragrans
''Myristica fragrans'' is an evergreen tree indigenous to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It is important as the main source of the spices nutmeg and mace. It is widely grown across the tropics including Guangdong and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, I ...
'' flowers on the
Isle de Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's mo ...
in about 1784.
Career
He created the genus ''Melanthera'' which is closely related to ''
Bidens
''Bidens'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae.[''Bidens''.](_blank)
Flo ...
'' in 1792, and is commemorated by the monotypic genus ''Rohria''
Schreb., native to
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
This botanist is denoted by the
author abbreviation J.P.Rohr 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 ...
.
Von Rohr was an immigrant to
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, and in 1757 was appointed as municipal buildings inspector and government land surveyor of the
Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...
, now known as the
United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
. The Danish crown also commissioned a study of the natural history of the islands. Von Rohr started a botanic garden in
Christiansted
Christiansted is the largest town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the United States Virgin Islands, a territory of the United States of America. The town is named after King Christian VI of Denmark.
History
The town was founded ...
on the island of
St. Croix
Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...
, corresponding with noted natural history scientists back in Denmark and in Europe. In the 1780s he studied cotton cultivation in the
Antilles
The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...
, exploring as far as
Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...
and
Cartagena. By now he had been given the rank of lieutenant colonel.
In the 1790s Denmark considered abolishing the Atlantic slave trade, a measure expected to bring down the flourishing sugarcane plantations of the Danish West Indies. Von Rohr, who by this time had acquired considerable administrative experience of the colony, was asked to investigate the feasibility of establishing plantation agriculture in the vicinity of the old Danish slaving forts 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 ...
on the
West African
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Ma ...
coast.
Von Rohr packed and sent ahead to
Fort Christiansborg
Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or the Castle) is a castle located in Osu, Ghana on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa.
A substantial fort was built by Denmark-Norway in the 1660s, thereafter the fort changed ownership ...
his surveying instruments and library, a catalogue of titles reflecting his colonial involvement. His library included books and periodicals sent to him from England by
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
. He traveled via the United States, where he was entertained by prominent public figures and natural historians in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It is claimed that Von Rohr's mission ended abruptly when the ship on which he was travelling to Africa from New York disappeared somewhere in the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
. Botanist
Benjamin Smith Barton
Benjamin Smith Barton (February 10, 1766 – December 19, 1815) was an American botanist, naturalist, and physician. He was one of the first professors of natural history in the United States and built the largest collection of botanical specime ...
, though, declared that he did make the voyage safely, but died of fever shortly after:
''"....my friend the late Mr. Julius von Rohr, a gentleman whose death is a real loss to natural science, and perhaps an irreparable loss to the interests of an injured and oppressed part of mankind: I mean the Blacks. In the summer of 1793, I took my last adieu of this learned botanist, and most amiable man. He sailed, from New York, for the coast of Africa, where he contemplated the establishment of a colony of Blacks. A few days after he had landed on the African continent, he died of a malignant fever. With him, I fear, has perished, for a long time at least, one of the best concerted schemes for the safe and happy emancipation of the swarthy children of Africa. Von Rohr was another
Howard
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
. In benevolence and good sense, he was, at least, equal to the great English philanthropist. In science certainly, and perhaps in the simplicity of his conduct, and the unambitious fervour of his zeal, he was the superior"''.
Bibliography
*
Martinho Vahl ''Eclogae Americanae seu Descriptiones Plantarum praesertim Americae Meridionalis nondum cognitarum''. Fasc. I & II (of III).
Antiquariaat
/ref>
Works
*Rohr, Julius Philip Benjamin von
''Anmerkungen über den Kattunbau : zum Nutzen der dänischen westindischen Colonien''
References
External links
* ttps://books.google.com/books?id=UWs4UfLaFX4C&pg=PA101&dq=Julius+von+R%C3%B6hr ''Saint Croix 1770-1776'' - Robert Amandus Johnson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohr, Julius Philip Benjamin von
Botanists with author abbreviations
18th-century German botanists
German naturalists
1737 births
1793 deaths