Johann Matthäus Bechstein (11 July 1757 – 23 February 1822) was a German naturalist,

forester A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to ...

, ornithologist, entomologist, and

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...

. In

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, he was known for his treatise on singing birds (''Naturgeschichte der Stubenvögel'', ''Natural History of Cage Birds'', 1795).

Biography

Bechstein was born in

Waltershausen Waltershausen is a town in the south-western part of the district of Gotha in the state of Thuringia, Germany. Geography Geographic location Located on the verge of the Thuringian Basin just before the Thuringian Forest, Waltershausen is so ...

in the district of

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

. He studied theology for four years at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

, and spent time hunting and roaming the forests as opportunities permitted. After leaving school, he taught for some years, but gave teaching up to devote himself to outdoor pursuits. In 1795, he founded the school of forestry at Waltershausen, and in 1800, the

Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernest ...

made him the director of the forestry school at Dreissigacker near

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

in the neighbouring district of

Schmalkalden-Meiningen Schmalkalden-Meiningen is a ''Landkreis'' in the southwest of Thuringia, Germany. Its neighboring districts are (from the northwest clockwise) the districts Wartburgkreis, Gotha, Ilm-Kreis, the district-free city Suhl, the district Hildburghausen ...

. After the death of his own son, Bechstein adopted his nephew

Ludwig Bechstein Ludwig Bechstein (24 November 1801 – 14 May 1860) was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales. He was born in Weimar, the illegitimate child of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and Hubert Dupontreau, a French emigrant who disappe ...

. Bechstein was a prolific zoologist and one of the first concerned with wildlife conservation; besides his ornithological work, he also published works calling for the protection of animals that were commonly considered harmful or pests at the time, such as

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

Bechstein's bat Bechstein's bat (''Myotis bechsteinii'') is a species of vesper bat found in Europe and western Asia, living in extensive areas of woodland. Description Bechstein's bat is a medium-sized and relatively long-eared bat. The adult has a long, fluf ...

was named in his honour.

Partial list of publications

* ''Gemeinnützige Naturgeschichte Deutschlands nach allen drey Reichen.'' 4 vols. Leipzig 1789–95; 2nd ed. 1801–09. * '' Johann Lathams Allgemeine Übersicht der Vögel'' 1791–1812. * ''Kurze aber gründliche Musterung aller bisher mit Recht oder Unrecht von dem Jäger als schädlich geachteten und getödteten Thiere, nebst Aufzählung einiger wirklich schädlichen, die er, seinem Berufe nach, nicht dafür erkennt, ...'' Ettinger, Gotha 1792–1805. * ''Kurzgefasste gemeinnützige Naturgeschichte'' 1792–97. * ''Naturgeschichte der Stubenvögel.'' Ettinger, Gotha 1795; 4th ed. Halle 1840. * ''Naturgeschichte der Stubenthiere.'' Ettinger, Gotha 1797. *''Herrn De la Cepede's Naturgeschichte der Amphibien oder der enerlegenden vierfüssingen Thiere und der Schlangen. Eine Fortsetzung von Buffon's Naturgeschichte aus dem Französischen übersetz und mit Anmerkungen und zusätzen versehen.'' 5 volumes. Industrie Comptoir. Weimar 1800. * ''Ornithologisches Taschenbuch von und für Deutschland oder Kurze Beschreibung aller Vögel Deutschlands für Liebhaber dieses Theils der Naturgeschichte.'' Richter, Leipzig 1802. * ''Naturgeschichte der schädlichen Waldinsecten.'' Monath & Kußler, Nürnberg 1798–1800. * ''Diana oder Gesellschaftsschrift zur Erweiterung und Berichtigung der Natur-, Forst- und Jagdkunde.'' Waltershausen 1797–1816. * ''Ornithologisches Taschenbuch'' 1802–1803. * ''Vollständige Naturgeschichte der schädlichen Forstinsekten: ein Handbuch für Forstmänner, Cameralisten und Dekonomen'' n collaboration with Georg Ludwig Scharfenberg Leipzig 1804–1805. * ''Die Forst- und Jagdwissenschaft nach allen ihren Theilen für angehende und ausübende Forstmänner und Jäger.'' Gotha, Erfurt 1818–35. *with

Georg Ludwig Scharfenberg Georg Ludwig Scharfenberg ( 28 December 1746 , Hümpfershausen - 2 December 1810,Ritschenhausen ) was a German entomologist and a Lutheran pastor. He was the son of a teacher and was educated at the University of Halle. Scharfenberg published notes ...

''Vollständige Naturgeschichte der schädlichen Forstinsekten : ein Handbuch für Forstmänner, Cameralisten und Dekonomen'' 1804

References

* * * * *

: ''Dr. Johann Matthäus Bechstein und die Forstacademie Dreißigacker. Ein Doppel-Denkmal von Ludwig Bechstein''. Brückner & Renner, Meiningen 1855, 420 (8) S. * Wolfgang Heinrich: ''Johann Matthäus Bechstein (1757–1822) und die Orchideen.'' AHO-Rundbrief 58, 2005 * Eberhard Mey: "Johann Matthäus Bechstein (1757–1822)". ''Rudolstadt Naturhistorische Schriften'' 11, 2003 * Rudolf Möller: "Johann Matthäus Bechstein (1757–1822) – eine Skizze seines Lebens und Schaffens". ''Anz. Ver. Thür. Orn.'' 4, 2002 * Wolfgang Pfauch: ''Johann Matthäus Bechstein 1757–1822. Leben und Schaffen.'' Kleinhampl, Erfurt 1998, * Ulrich Scheidt & Günther Praedicow: ''Johann Matthäus Bechstein (1757–1822) und die Anfänge der Terrarienkunde''. Der Sekretär, 2006 *

Ekkehard Schwartz Ekkehard (and Eckardt, Eckard, Eckart, Eckhardt, Ekkehart) is a German given name. It is composed of the elements ''ekke'' "edge, blade; sword" and ''hart'' "brave; hardy". Variant forms include Eckard, Eckhard, Eckhart, Eckart. The Anglo-Saxon fo ...

: "Johann Matthäus Bechstein (1757–1822)", in ibid.: ''Wegbereiter nachhaltiger Waldwirtschaft in Thüringen''. Kessel, Remagen 2005, 151 S.,, S. 94-108 * Roland Tittel: "Johann Matthäus Bechsteins neue Vogelarten". ''Abh. Ber. Mus. Natur Gotha'' 22, 2002.

Notes

External links

* *
Zoologica

Göttingen State and University Library The Göttingen State and University Library (german: Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen or SUB Göttingen) is the library for Göttingen University as well as for the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and is the state li ...

Digitised ''Gemeinnützige Naturgeschichte Deutschlands nach allen drey Reichen'' and ''Naturgeschichte der Stubenthiere oder Anleitung zur Kenntniß und Wartung derjenigen Thiere, welche man in der Stube halten kann'', ''Vollständige Naturgeschichte der schädlichen Forstinsecten'' etc. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bechstein, Johann 1757 births 1822 deaths People from Waltershausen People from Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 19th-century German biologists German ornithologists German entomologists University of Jena alumni 18th-century German zoologists