Johann Andreas Benignus Bergsträsser (21 December 1732, in Idstein – 24 December 1812, in Hanau) was a German educator,

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

, and entomologist.

Education

He studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and

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 the ...

at the universities of

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

and Halle, and in 1756–58 worked as a teacher at the

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

. In 1760 he was appointed

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at the

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

gymnasium in Hanau. In 1775 he obtained the title of professor and became a member of the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

.Aachen - Braniß
edited by

Rudolf Vierhaus Rudolf Vierhaus (29 October 1922 – 13 November 2011) was a German historian who mainly researched the Early modern period. He had been a professor at the newly founded Ruhr University Bochum since 1964. From 1971, he was director of the in Göt ...

ADB:Bergsträßer, Johann Andreas Benignus
In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, S. 387–398. In 1784 he proposed a type of optical telegraph system to "connect"

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

with

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He initially tried a variety of other types of fire-related communications. But this connection used four different types of rockets: rockets without detonation; rockets with detonation; illuminating signal rockets and firework rockets.

Selected works

* ''Realwörterbuch über die classischen Schriftsteller'' (7 volumes. Halle, 1772–81) – Dictionary on the classical authors. * ''Chronologiae historicae particula prima (-secunda), scholarum in usus concinnatae, qua ad solemnem lycei lustrationem...'' (Hanovre, 2 volumes, 1778). * ''Nomenclatur und Beschreibung der Insecten der Grafschaft Hanau-Münzenberg...'' (Hanau, three volumes, 1777–79) – Nomenclature and description of the insects of

Hanau-Münzenberg The County of Hanau-Münzenberg was a territory within the Holy Roman Empire. It emerged when the County of Hanau was divided in 1458, the other part being the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg. Due to common heirs, both counties were merged from 1642 t ...

. * ''Jo. Andr. Benigni Bergstraesseri,... Icones papilionum diurnorum quotquot adhuc in Europa occurrunt descriptae... Decuria prima, oder Abbildungen und Beschreibungen aller bekannten europaeischen Tagfalter. Erstes Zehendt'' (Hanovre, 3 parts, 1779-1781). * ''Ueber sein am ein und zwanzigsten December. 1784 angekündigtes Problem einer Korrespondenz in ab- und unabsehbaren Weiten der Kriegsvorfälle, oder über Synthematographik...'' (Hanau, three volumes, 1785–88). * ''Ueber Signal-, Order- und Zielschreiberei in die Ferne... oder über Synthematographe und Telegraphe in der Vergleichung...'' (Francfort-sur-le-Main, 1795).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergstrasser, Johann Andreas Benignus German lepidopterists University of Jena alumni University of Halle alumni People from Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis 1732 births 1812 deaths 18th-century German zoologists 19th-century German zoologists German Lutherans German philologists