Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (14 February 1776 – 16 March 1858) was a prolific

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 **Ge ...

botanist,

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

, and

natural philosopher Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science. From the ancient wo ...

. He was a contemporary of

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

and was born within the lifetime of

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

. He described approximately 7,000 plant species (almost as many as Linnaeus himself). His last official act as president of the

German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

was to admit

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

as a member. He was the author of numerous monographs on botany and zoology. His best-known works deal with

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

Biography

Nees von Esenbeck was born in Schloss Reichenberg near

Reichelsheim (Odenwald) Reichelsheim (Odenwald) is a municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Reichelsheim lies in the middle Odenwald at elevations between 200 and 538 m in the middle of the ''Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-O ...

. He showed an early interest in science and, after receiving his primary education in Darmstadt, he went on to 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 ...

, obtaining his degree in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

(natural history) and

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

in 1800. He practiced as a physician for Francis I (Erbach-Erbach), but he had developed a great interest in botany during his university studies, and eventually he returned to

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. In 1816 he joined the Leopoldina Academy, which was one of the most prestigious institutions in Europe. In 1817 he was appointed professor of botany at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. Three years later he became professor of natural history at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

, where he established the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, and in 1831 he was appointed to the chair of botany at the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. In 1818 he was elected president of the Leopoldina Academy. He continued as president of the academy for the rest of his life. In botany he achieved notoriety for, among other things, contributions to the families

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in tem ...

and Lauraceae. He became politically active in the

German revolutions of 1848–1849 The German revolutions of 1848–1849 (), the opening phase of which was also called the March Revolution (), were initially part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many European countries. They were a series of loosely coordinated pro ...

. In 1851 due to conflicts with the government he was deprived of his professorship and pension at Breslau. Seven years later Nees von Esenbeck died essentially penniless in Breslau. He was an older brother to botanist

Theodor Friedrich Ludwig Nees von Esenbeck Theodor Friedrich Ludwig Nees von Esenbeck (26 July 1787 – 12 December 1837) was a German botanist and pharmacologist, who was born in Schloss Reichenberg near Reichelsheim (Odenwald). He was a younger brother to naturalist Christian Gottfrie ...

(1787–1837).

Honours

In 1936, botanist Wilhelm Kirschstein published '' Myconeesia'', a genus of

in the family Xylariaceae and named in his honour. In 1940, botanist

Pilg. Robert Knud Friedrich Pilger (3 July 1876, in Helgoland – 1 September 1953, in Berlin)

published ''

Neesiochloa ''Neesiochloa'' is a genus of Brazilian plants in the grass family. The only known species is ''Neesiochloa barbata''. It is native to eastern Brazil (Bahia, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí). The genus name of ''Neesiochloa'' is in honour of ...

'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian plants in the grass family, in Nees von Esenbeck's honour. Then in 1947, botanist

Margaret Rutherford Bryan Levyns Margaret Rutherford Bryan Levyns (née Michell, 24 August 1890 Cape Town – 11 November 1975 Cape Town) was an eminent South African phytogeography, phytogeographer, botanics, botanist and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist. Early life and edu ...

published '' Neesenbeckia'', a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s from South Africa, belonging to the family Cyperaceae, in Nees von Esenbeck's honour.

Works

* ''Die Algen des süßen Wassers, nach ihren Entwickelungsstufen dargestellt (1814) * ''Das System der Pilze und Schwämme'' (1816) * ''Vorlesungen zur Entwickelungsgeschichte des magnetischen Schlafs und Traums'' (1820) * ''Handbuch der Botanik. Band 1'' (1820
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Handbuch der Botanik. Band 2'' (1821
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Bryologia germanica'' (with

Christian Friedrich Hornschuch Christian Friedrich Hornschuch (21 August 1793 – 24 December 1850) was a German botanist born in Rodach, Bavaria. In 1808 he started his career as an apprentice at a pharmacy in Hildburghausen. In 1813 he moved to Regensburg as an assistan ...

und

Jacob Sturm Jacob Sturm (21 March 1771 – 28 November 1848) was a leading engraver of entomological and botanical scientific publications in Germany at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. He was born and lived in Nuremberg and was th ...

, 1823–31, 2 Bände mit 43 Tafeln) * ''Plantarum, in Horto medico Bonnensi nutritarum, Icones selectae'' (1824
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Agrostologia brasiliensis'' (1829) * ''Genera Plantarum Florae Germanicae'' (1831–1860) * ''Genera et species Asterearum'' (1833) * ''Naturgeschichte der europäischen Lebermoose mit Erinnerungen aus dem Riesengebirge'' (1833-38, 4 Bände) * ''Hymenopterorum Ichneumonibus affinium monographiae'' (1834, 2 Bände) * ''System der spekulativen Philosophie'', Band 1 *'' Systema Laurinarum'' (1836) * ''Florae Africae australioris illustration monographicae Gramineae'' (1841) * ''Die Naturphilosophie'' (1841) * ''De Cinnamomo disputatio'' (1843) * ''Synopsis hepaticarum'' (with

Carl Moritz Gottsche Carl Moritz Gottsche (3 July 1808 – 28 September 1892) was a German physician and bryologist born in Altona. He was the father of geologist Carl Christian Gottsche (1859-1909). Gottsche was a leading authority of Hepaticae. With Christian Go ...

und Johann Lindenberg, 1844–1847) *''Die allgemeine Formenlehre der Natur'' (1852)

References

External links

* http://www.nees-von-esenbeck.de/ (German language site devoted to Nees von Esenbeck; includes extensive biography) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nees von Esenbeck, Christian Gottfried Daniel German taxonomists 01 19th-century German zoologists 1776 births 1858 deaths Agrostologists Bryologists Pteridologists German entomologists German mycologists German phycologists Botanists with author abbreviations Presidents of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina German religious humanists University of Jena alumni University of Erlangen-Nuremberg faculty University of Bonn faculty University of Breslau faculty People from Odenwaldkreis 19th-century German botanists Member of the Prussian National Assembly

Biography

Honours

Works

References

Further reading

External links