Friedrich Gabriel Sulzer (10 October 1749 – 14 December 1830) 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 ...

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 ...

from

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 district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

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 ...

. Sulzer had a large collection of minerals and published also new results from new species. In 1791, Sulzer published together with

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (11 May 1752 – 22 January 1840) was a German physician, naturalist, physiologist, and anthropologist. He is considered to be a main founder of zoology and anthropology as comparative, scientific disciplines. He wa ...

their results on a new mineral he had acquired. He named the mineral

strontianite Strontianite ( Sr C O3) is an important raw material for the extraction of strontium. It is a rare carbonate mineral and one of only a few strontium minerals. It is a member of the aragonite group. Aragonite group members: aragonite (CaCO3), ...

(

strontium carbonate Strontium carbonate (SrCO3) is the carbonate salt of strontium that has the appearance of a white or grey powder. It occurs in nature as the mineral strontianite. Chemical properties Strontium carbonate is a white, odorless, tasteless powder. ...

) and made clear that it was distinct from the

witherite Witherite is a barium carbonate mineral, Ba C O3, in the aragonite group. Witherite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and virtually always is twinned. The mineral is colorless, milky-white, grey, pale-yellow, green, to pale-brown. The spec ...

(

barium carbonate Barium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula BaCO3. Like most alkaline earth metal carbonates, it is a white salt that is poorly soluble in water. It occurs as the mineral known as witherite. In a commercial sense, it is one of t ...

) and stated that it contained a new element. He was head of a

veterinary school Veterinary education is the tertiary education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian, one must first complete a veterinary degree in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM , V.M.D. , BVS, BVSc, BVMS, BVM, cand.med.vet). In the United States and ...

and a

midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...

school and chief physician for the local spa in Ronneburg, Thuringia. Additionally, he was the physician for

Dorothea von Medem Countess Anna Charlotte Dorothea von Medem (3 February 1761 – 20 August 1821) was born a Gräfin (Countess) of the noble German Baltic Medem family and later became Duchess of Courland. Popularly known as Dorothea of Courland after her marria ...

and her sister

Elisa von der Recke Elisabeth "Elisa" Charlotte Constanzia von der Recke (née von Medem; 20 May 1754 – 13 April 1833) was a Baltic German writer and poet. Family Elisa von der Recke was born in Schönberg, Skaistkalne parish, Courland (present-day Skaist ...

. He was part of the ''Musenhof der Herzogin von Kurland''. In 1774, Sulzer, a companion of

Johann Wolfgang von 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 trea ...

, devoted a whole academic

monography A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograp ...

in the domain of

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

s and natural history to

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera.Fox, Sue. 2006. ''Hamsters''. T.F.H. Publications Inc. They have become established as popular small pets. The b ...

s, entitled "An approach to a natural history of the hamster" ("''Versuch einer Naturgeschichte des Hamsters''"). In several instances, he used the hamster to document the equal rights of all beings, including ''

Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulzer, Friedrich Gabriel 1749 births 1830 deaths 18th-century German educators 18th-century German physicians 19th-century German educators 19th-century German physicians German academic administrators People from Goslar (district) People from Gotha (town) People from Greiz (district) Veterinary scientists 18th-century German writers 18th-century German male writers

See also

References