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Jan Swammerdam (February 12, 1637 – February 17, 1680) was a Dutch biologist and microscopist. His work on
insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
demonstrated that the various phases during the life of an insect— egg,
larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...
,
pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...
, and adult—are different forms of the same animal. As part of his anatomical research, he carried out experiments on
muscle contraction Muscle contraction is the activation of tension-generating sites within muscle cells. In physiology, muscle contraction does not necessarily mean muscle shortening because muscle tension can be produced without changes in muscle length, such a ...
. In 1658, he was the first to observe and describe
red blood cell Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "hol ...
s. He was one of the first people to use the
microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisi ...
in dissections, and his techniques remained useful for hundreds of years.


Education

Swammerdam was baptized on 15 February 1637 in the Oude Kerk Amsterdam. His father was an
apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...
, and an amateur collector of
minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed ...
, coins,
fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
, and
insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
from around the world. His mother Baertje Jans Corvers died in 1661. As a youngster, Swammerdam had helped his father to take care of his curiosity collection. Despite his father's wish that he should study
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
Swammerdam started to study medicine in 1661 at the
University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
. He studied under the guidance of
Johannes van Horne Johannes van Horne, Joannis van Horne (surname Latinized as Hornius, 2 September 1621 – 5 January 1670) was a Dutch anatomist best known for his illustrated atlas of myology. He was a professor of anatomy and surgery at Leiden University where hi ...
and
Franciscus Sylvius Franciscus Sylvius (15 March 1614 – 19 November 1672), born Franz de le Boë, was a Dutch physician and scientist (chemist, physiologist and anatomist) who was an early champion of Descartes', Van Helmont's and William Harvey's work and ...
. Among his fellow students were
Frederik Ruysch Frederik Ruysch (; March 28, 1638 – February 22, 1731) was a Dutch botanist and anatomist. He is known for developing techniques for preserving anatomical specimens, which he used to create dioramas or scenes incorporating human parts. His ana ...
,
Reinier de Graaf Regnier de Graaf (English spelling), original Dutch spelling Reinier de Graaf, or Latinized Reijnerus de Graeff (30 July 164117 August 1673) was a Dutch physician, physiologist and anatomist who made key discoveries in reproductive biology. He ...
and
Niels Stensen Niels Steensen ( da, Niels Steensen; Latinized to ''Nicolaus Steno'' or ''Nicolaus Stenonius''; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
. In 1663 Swammerdam moved to France to continue his studies. He studied for one year at the Protestant
University of Saumur The Academy of Saumur (french: Académie de Saumur) was a Huguenot university at Saumur in western France. It existed from 1593, when it was founded by Philippe de Mornay, until shortly after 1685, when Louis XIV decided on the revocation of the E ...
, under the guidance of
Tanaquil Faber Tanaquil ( Etruscan: ''Thanchvil'') was the queen of Rome by marriage to Tarquinius Priscus, fifth king of Rome. Life The daughter of a powerful Etruscan family in Tarquinii, Etruria, Tanaquil thought her husband would make a good leader, bu ...
. Subsequently, he studied in Paris at the scientific academy of Melchisédech Thévenot. 1665 he returned to the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...
and joined a group of physicians who performed dissections and published their findings. Between 1666 and 1667 Swammerdam concluded his study of medicine at the University of Leiden. Together with van Horne, he researched the anatomy of the
uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The ...
. He used waxen injection techniques and a single-lens
microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisi ...
made by Johannes Hudde. The result of this research was published under the title ''Miraculum naturae sive uteri muliebris fabrica'' in 1672. Swammerdam received his doctorate in medicine in 1667 under van Horne for his dissertation on the mechanism of respiration, published under the title ''De respiratione usuque pulmonum''.


Research into insects

While studying medicine Swammerdam had started to dissect insects and after qualifying as a doctor, he focused on them. His father pressured him to earn a living, but Swammerdam persevered and in late 1669 published ''Historia insectorum generalis ofte Algemeene verhandeling van de bloedeloose dierkens'' (''The General History of Insects, or General Treatise on little Bloodless Animals''). The treatise summarised his study of insects he had collected in France and around Amsterdam. He countered the prevailing Aristotelian notion that insects were imperfect animals that lacked internal anatomy. Following the publication his father withdrew all financial support. As a result, Swammerdam was forced, at least occasionally, to practice medicine in order to finance his own research. He obtained leave at Amsterdam to dissect the bodies of those who died in the hospital. At university Swammerdam engaged deeply in the religious and philosophical ideas of his time. He categorically opposed the ideas behind
spontaneous generation Spontaneous generation is a superseded scientific theory that held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular. It was hypothesized that certain forms, such as fleas, could arise f ...
, which held that God had created some creatures, but not insects. Swammerdam argued that this would blasphemously imply that parts of the universe were excluded from God's will. In his scientific study, Swammerdam tried to prove that God's creation happened time after time, and that it was uniform and stable. Swammerdam was much influenced by
René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Ma ...
, whose natural philosophy had been widely adopted by Dutch intellectuals. In ''Discours de la Methode'' Descartes had argued that nature was orderly and obeyed fixed laws, thus nature could be explained rationally. Swammerdam was convinced that the creation, or generation, of all creatures obeyed the same laws. Having studied the reproductive organs of men and women at university he set out to study the generation of insects. He had devoted himself to studying insects after discovering that the
bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...
was indeed a
queen bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are developed ...
. Swammerdam knew this because he had found eggs inside the creature. But he did not publish this finding. In 1669 Swammerdam was visited by
Cosimo III de' Medici Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinan ...
and showed him another revolutionary discovery. Inside a
caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...
the limbs and wings of the
butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...
could be seen (now called the
imaginal disc An imaginal disc is one of the parts of a holometabolous insect larva that will become a portion of the outside of the adult insect during the pupal transformation. Contained within the body of the larva, there are pairs of discs that will for ...
s). When Swammerdam published ''The General History of Insects, or General Treatise on little Bloodless Animals'' later that year he not only did away with the idea that insects lacked internal anatomy but also attacked the Christian notion that insects originated from spontaneous generation and that their life cycle was a
metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...
. Swammerdam maintained that all insects originated from eggs and their limbs grew and developed slowly. Thus there was no distinction between insects and so-called ''higher animals''. Swammerdam declared war on "vulgar errors" and the symbolic interpretation of insects was, in his mind, incompatible with the power of God, the almighty architect. Swammerdam, therefore, dispelled the seventeenth-century notion of metamorphosis —the idea that different life stages of an insect (e.g.
caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...
and
butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...
) represent different individuals or a sudden change from one type of animal to another.


Spirituality

Swammerdam suffered a crisis of conscience. Having believed that his scientific research was a tribute to the Creator, he started to fear that he may be worshipping the
idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...
of curiosities. In 1673 Swammerdam briefly fell under the influence of the
Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
mystic
Antoinette Bourignon Antoinette Bourignon de la Porte (13 January 161630 October 1680) was a French-Flemish mystic and adventurer. She taught that the end times would come soon and that the Last Judgment would then fall. Her belief was that she was chosen by God to ...
. His 1675 treatise on the
mayfly Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the orde ...
, entitled ''Ephemeri vita'', included devout poetry and documented his religious experiences. Swammerdam found comfort in the arms of Bourignon's sect in
Schleswig Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schl ...
, but was back in Amsterdam in early 1676. In a letter to
Henry Oldenburg Henry Oldenburg (also Henry Oldenbourg) FRS (c. 1618 as Heinrich Oldenburg – 5 September 1677), was a German theologian, diplomat, and natural philosopher, known as one of the creators of modern scientific peer review. He was one of the fo ...
, he explained "I was never at any time busier than in these days, and the chief of all architects has blessed my endeavors".


''Bybel der natuure''

His religious crisis only interrupted his scientific research briefly and until his premature death aged 43, he worked on what was to become his main work. It remained unpublished when he died in 1680 and was published as ''Bybel der natuure'' posthumously in 1737 by the Leiden University professor
Herman Boerhaave Herman Boerhaave (, 31 December 1668 – 23 September 1738Underwood, E. Ashworth. "Boerhaave After Three Hundred Years." ''The British Medical Journal'' 4, no. 5634 (1968): 820–25. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20395297.) was a Dutch botanist, ...
. Convinced that all insects were worth studying, Swammerdam had compiled an epic treatise on as many insects as he could, using the microscope and dissection. Inspired by
Marcello Malpighi Marcello Malpighi (10 March 1628 – 30 November 1694) was an Italian biologist and physician, who is referred to as the "Founder of microscopical anatomy, histology & Father of physiology and embryology". Malpighi's name is borne by several ph ...
, in ''De Bombyce'' Swammerdam described the anatomy of
silkworms The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically ...
, mayflies,
ants Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...
,
stag beetle Stag beetles are a family of about 1,200 species of beetles in the family Lucanidae, currently classified in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections ...
s, cheese mites,
bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfam ...
and many other insects. His scientific observations were infused by the presence of God, the almighty creator. Swammerdam's praise of the
louse Louse ( : lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a resul ...
went on to become a classic:
"Herewith I offer you the Omnipotent Finger of God in the anatomy of a louse: wherein you will find miracle heaped on miracle and see the wisdom of God clearly manifested in a minute point."


Research on bees

In ''Biblia naturae'' the first visual proof was published that his contemporaries had mistakenly identified the
queen bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are developed ...
as male. Swammerdam also provided evidence that the queen bee is the sole mother of the colony. Swammerdam had engaged in five intense years of
beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus ''Apis (insect), Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees ar ...
. He had found that drones were masculine, and had no stinger. Swammerdam identified the worker bees as "natural eunuchs" because he was unable to detect ovaries in them, but described them as nearer to the nature of the female. Swammerdam had produced a drawing of the queen bee's reproductive organs, as observed through the microscope. Since ancient times it had been asserted that the queen bee was male, and ruled the hive. In 1586 Luis Mendez de Torres had first published the finding that the hive was ruled by a female, but Torres had maintained that she produced all other bees in the colony through a "seed". In 1609
Charles Butler Charles or Charlie Butler may refer to: Legal profession *Charles Butler (lawyer) (1750–1832), English lawyer and writer *Charles Butler (NYU) (1802–1897), American lawyer and philanthropist * Charles C. Butler (1865 – after 1937), Chief Jus ...
had recorded the sex of drones as male, but he wrongly believed that they mated with worker bees. The drawing Swammerdam produced of the internal anatomy of the queen bee was only published in 1737. His drawing of the
honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic wax cells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey. Honey bees consume about of honey ...
geometry was first published in ''Biblia naturae'', but had been referenced by Giacomo Filippo Maraldi in his 1712 book. Details of Swammerdam's research on bees had already been published elsewhere because he had shared his findings with other scientists in correspondence. Among others, Swammerdam's research had been referenced by
Nicolas Malebranche Nicolas Malebranche ( , ; 6 August 1638 – 13 October 1715) was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher. In his works, he sought to synthesize the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the a ...
in 1688.


Research on muscles

In ''Biblia naturae'' Swammerdam's research on muscles was published. Swammerdam played a key role in the debunking of the balloonist theory, the idea that 'moving spirits' are responsible for muscle contractions. The idea, supported by the Greek physician
Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be o ...
, held that nerves were hollow and the movement of spirits through them propelled muscle motion.
René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Ma ...
furthered the idea by basing it on a model of
hydraulics Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...
, suggesting that the spirits were analogous to fluids or gasses and calling them 'animal spirits'. In the model, which Descartes used to explain
reflex In biology, a reflex, or reflex action, is an involuntary, unplanned sequence or action and nearly instantaneous response to a stimulus. Reflexes are found with varying levels of complexity in organisms with a nervous system. A reflex occurs ...
es, the spirits would flow from the ventricles of the brain, through the nerves, and to the muscles to animate the latter. According to this hypothesis, muscles would grow larger when they contract because of the animal spirits flowing into them. To test this idea, Swammerdam placed severed frog thigh muscle in an airtight syringe with a small amount of water in the tip. He could thus determine whether there was a change in the volume of the muscle when it contracted by observing a change in the level of the water (image at right). When Swammerdam caused the muscle to contract by irritating the nerve, the water level did not rise but rather was lowered by a minute amount; this showed that no air or fluid could be flowing into the muscle. The idea that nerve stimulation led to the movement had important implications for
neuroscience Neuroscience is the science, scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a Multidisciplinary approach, multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, an ...
by putting forward the idea that behavior is based on stimuli. Swammerdam's research had been referenced before its publication by
Nicolas Steno Niels Steensen ( da, Niels Steensen; Latinized to ''Nicolaus Steno'' or ''Nicolaus Stenonius''; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686

Legacy

Swammerdam's ''Historia insectorum generalis'' was widely known and applauded before he died. Two years after his death in 1680 it was translated into French and in 1685 it was translated into Latin.
John Ray John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...
, author of the 1705 ''Historia insectorum'', praised Swammerdam' methods, they were "the best of all". Though Swammerdam's work on
insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
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 i ...
was significant, many current histories remember him as much for his methods and skill with microscopes as for his discoveries. He developed new techniques for examining, preserving, and dissecting specimens, including wax injection to make viewing blood vessels easier. A method he invented for the preparation of hollow human organs was later much employed in anatomy. He had corresponded with contemporaries across Europe and his friends
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ...
and
Nicolas Malebranche Nicolas Malebranche ( , ; 6 August 1638 – 13 October 1715) was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher. In his works, he sought to synthesize the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the a ...
used his microscopic research to substantiate their own natural and moral philosophy. But Swammerdam has also been credited with heralding the natural theology of the 18th century, were God's grand design was detected in the mechanics of the
Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...
, the
seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
, snowflakes and the anatomy of the human eye. An English translation of his entomological works by T. Floyd was published in 1758. No authentic portrait of Jan Swammerdam is extant nowadays. The portrait shown in the header is derived from the painting ''The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp'' by
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally cons ...
and represents the leading Amsterdam physician Hartman Hartmanzoon (1591–1659).


Notes


Works

*


References

*Cobb M. 2002.
Exorcizing the animal spirits: John Swammerdam on nerve function
''Nature Reviews'', Volume 3, Pages 395–400. *Winsor, Mary P. "Swammerdam, Jan." ''
Dictionary of Scientific Biography The ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' is a scholarly reference work that was published from 1970 through 1980 by publisher Charles Scribner's Sons, with main editor the science historian Charles Gillispie, from Princeton University. It consi ...
.'' 1976 *Cobb, Matthew. "Reading and writing ''The Book of Nature'': Jan Swammerdam (1637–1680)." ''Endeavour.'' Vol. 24(3). 2000. *O'Connell, Sanjida. "A silk road to biology." ''The Times.'' May 27, 2002. *Hall, Rupert A. ''From Galileo to Newton 1630–1720''R. &R. Clark, Ltd., Edinburgh: 1963.


Further reading

*Jorink, Eric. "'Outside God there is Nothing': Swammerdam, Spinoza, and the Janus-Face of the Early Dutch Enlightenment." ''The Early Enlightenment in the Dutch Republic, 1650–1750: Selected Papers of a Conference, Held at the Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, 22–23 March 2001.'' Ed. Wiep Van Bunge. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003. 81–108. *Fearing, Franklin. "Jan Swammerdam: A Study in the History of Comparative and Physiological Psychology of the 17th Century." ''The American Journal of Psychology'' 41.3 (1929): 442–455 *Ruestow, Edward G. ''The Microscope in the Dutch Republic: The Shaping of Discovery''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. *Ruestow, Edward G. "Piety and the defense of natural order: Swammerdam on generation." ''Religion Science and Worldview: Essays in Honor of Richard S. Westfall.'' Eds. Margaret Osler and Paul Lawrence Farber. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985. 217–241.


External links


Site devoted to Swammerdam
* ttp://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/swammerdam.html Biography written by Matthew Cobb, a professor at Laboratoire d'Ecologie in Parisbr>An English Edition of Swammerdam's "The Book of Nature, or, The History of Insects" From the History of Science Digital Collection
Utah State University * * *
The Correspondence of Jan Swammerdam
i
EMLO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swammerdam, Jan 1637 births 1680 deaths 17th-century Dutch naturalists 17th-century Dutch scientists Dutch beekeepers Dutch biologists Dutch entomologists Dutch naturalists Dutch zoologists Leiden University alumni Microscopists Scientists from Amsterdam Biology and natural history in the Dutch Republic