Émil August Goeldi (var. Göldi, Portuguese var. Emílio Augusto Goeldi) (28 August 1859 – 5 July 1917 in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

), was a Swiss-Brazilian

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

. He was the father of Oswaldo Goeldi, a noted Brazilian engraver and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

Biography

Goeldi studied zoology in

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany 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 in ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

with

Ernst Haeckel Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (; ; 16 February 1834 – 9 August 1919) was a German zoologist, natural history, naturalist, eugenics, eugenicist, Philosophy, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biology, marine biologist and artist ...

, and in 1884 he was invited by Ladislau de Souza Mello Netto, the influential director of the Brazilian Museu Imperial e Nacional, to work at that institution. Goeldi arrived in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in 1885 to work in the National Museum (now the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. In May 1890, he was fired, due to political circumstances related to the proclamation of the

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and the exile of his principal benefactor, Emperor D. Pedro II. He was then invited by the governor of the state of

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

, Lauro Sodré, to reorganize the Pará Museum of Natural History and Ethnography, in

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

, which had been founded in 1866 by Domingos Soares Ferreira Penna. He arrived on 9 June 1894 in Belém. In his pioneering work, Goeldi was helped by several other foreign researchers, such as the Swiss botanist Jacques Huber (1867–1914), zoologist Emilie Snethlage (1868–1929), geologists Friedrich Katzer (1861–1925), and Alexander Karl von Kraatz-Koschlau (1867–1900), and

Adolpho Ducke Adolpho Ducke (October 19, 1876 – January 5, 1959), (also referred to as Adolfo Ducke and occasionally misspelled "Duque"), was a notable entomologist, botanist and ethnographer specializing in Amazonia. According to family records, he was an ...

(1876–1959), entomologist, ethnographer and botanist. In 1902, the Museu Paraense de História Natural e Ethnography was renamed in his honour. It is now called the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. In 1905 Émil Goeldi renounced his post, due to ill health, and returned to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

where he died in

, in 1917, at age 58. Huber, then Snethlage and Ducke succeeded him as general directors of the Goeldi Museum in Belém.

Contributions

Goeldi was primarily a zoologist and described many new Brazilian species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

and

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

. Some of the species which bear his name are: * Goeldi's antbird - ''Myrmeciza goeldii'' * Goeldi's marmoset - ''Callimico goeldii'' * Goeldi's frog - ''Flectonotus goeldii'' Several other species were named in honour of Émil Goeldi, such as: * '' Acropyga goeldii'', ''

Camponotus Carpenter ants (''Camponotus'' spp.) are a genus of large ants (workers ) indigenous to many parts of the world. True carpenter ants build nests inside wood, consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles or jaws, preferably in dead, ...

goeldii'', '' Azteca goeldii'', ''

Pachycondyla ''Pachycondyla'' is a Ponerinae, ponerine genus of ants found in the Neotropics. Distribution ''Pachycondyla'' is currently distributed from southern United States to northern Argentina, but some fossil species (e.g. ''Pachycondyla eocenica, P. ...

goeldii'', '' Crematogaster torosa goeldii'', '' Mycocepurus goeldii'', '' Procryptocerus goeldii'', '' Acanthoponera goeldii'', '' Brachymyrmex goeldii'', '' Dorymyrmex goeldii dubius'', '' Paratrechina goeldii'', '' Megalomyrmex goeldii'', '' Myrmelachista goeldii'', ''

Neivamyrmex ''Neivamyrmex'' is a genus of army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. Range ''Neivamyrmex'' species can be found from the central United States to southern Argentina. Taxonomy As of 2021, 129 ''Neivamyrmex'' species have been identified. However, ...

goeldii'', '' Solenopsis goeldii'', '' Pheidole goeldii'' and '' Cephalotes goeldii'', all species of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

ant 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 Cre ...

s described by

Auguste Forel Auguste-Henri Forel (; 1 September 1848 – 27 July 1931) was a Swiss myrmecologist, neuroanatomist, psychiatrist and former eugenicist, notable for his investigations into the structure of the human brain and that of ants. He is considered a c ...

; * '' Protambulyx goeldii'', a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

; * '' Dubioniscus goeldii'', a garden pillbug (

isopod Isopoda is an Order (biology), order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both Aquatic animal, aquatic species and Terrestrial animal, terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons ...

); *'' Metazygia goeldii'', a Brazilian species of orb-weaver spider; * '' Megaelosia goeldii'' and '' Fritziana goeldii'',

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

s; * '' Trichomycterus goeldii'', a pencil

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

; * '' Cynopotamus goeldii'', a

Characidae Characidae, the characids, is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish belonging to the order Characiformes. They are found throughout much of Central and South America, including such major waterways as the Amazon and Orinoco Riv ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

; * Goeldi's pimelodid, ''Duopalatinus goeldii'', a Pimelodidae freshwater fish; * Goeldi's hemiodus, ''Hemiodus goeldii'', a Hemiodontidae freshwater fish. * '' Cheirocerus goeldii'', also a catfish; * ''

Simulium ''Simulium'' is a genus of Black_fly, black flies, which may transmit diseases such as onchocerciasis (river blindness). It is a large genus with almost 2,000 species and 38 subgenus, subgenera. The flies are pool feeders. Their saliva, wh ...

goeldii'', a blackfly from the

Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

; * ''Philodendron goeldii'', a philodendron plant. * '' Polistes goeldii'', a species of ''

Polistes ''Polistes'' is a cosmopolitan genus of paper wasps and the only genus in the tribe Polistini. Vernacular names for the genus include umbrella wasps, coined by Walter Ebeling in 1975 to distinguish it from other types of paper wasp, in refer ...

'' wasp.

In other scientific fields

Goeldi was also recognized as an important early figure in

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

and

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

in Brazil, because he studied the mechanism of transmission of yellow fever and advocated the importance of fighting the

mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

as the vector of the disease, several years before

Oswaldo Cruz Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz (; August 5, 1872 – February 11, 1917), was a Brazilian physician, pioneer bacteriologist, epidemiology, epidemiologist and public health officer and the founder of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Oswaldo Cruz Institute. ...

did so. His extensive scientific research on the

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

and socio-economical conditions of the present day region of

Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...

was very important to end the Contestado territorial litigation between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, ceding the territory to Brazil on 1 December 1900, by the international decision of the court of Bern.

Publications

* Goeldi, E. A. (1886). Bericht über zwei ältere, unbekannt gebliebene illustrierte Manuskripte portugiesisch-brasilianischer Naturforscher. I. Die zoologischen Zeichnungen von Alexander Rodriguez Ferreira. II. Die zoologischen Zeichnungen von Arruda da Camara. ''Zoologische Jahrbücher'', Jena, 2, 175-184 * Goeldi, E. A. (1892). Zur Orientierung in der Spinnenfauna Brasiliens. ''Mitteilungen aus dem Osterlande (Neue Folge)'', 5, 200-248 * Goeldi, E. A. (1897). A lenda amazônica do "cauré". ''Bol. Mus. Paraense'', 2, 430-441 * Goeldi, E. A. (1897). On the nesting of ''Cassicus persicus, Cassidrix oryzivora, Gymnomystax melanicterus'' and ''Todirostrum maculatum''. ''Ibis, 7''(3), 361-370 * Goeldi, E. A. (1898 (1897)). A lenda amazônica do "cauré". ''Bol. Mus. Paraense, 2'', 430-441 * Goeldi, E. A. (1900). Sobre a nidificação do ''Cassicus persicus'' (japim), do ''Cassidix oryzivora'' (graúna), do ''Gymnomystax melanicterus'' (aritauá) e do ''Todirostrum maculatum'' (ferreirinho). ''Bol. Mus. Para. Hist. Nat. Ethnogr., (Mus. Para.)'', 3, 203-210 * Goeldi, E. A. (1904). ''Against the destruction of white herons and red ibises on the lower Amazon, especially on the Island of Marajó''(2 ed.). Belém: Pará * Geoldi, E. A. (1905). ''Myrmecologische Mitteilung das Wachsen des Pilzgartens von ''Atta cephalotes'' betreffend''. Paper presented at the C.r. 6th Congr. Int. Zool., Berne * Goeldi, E. A. (1905). ''Beobachtungen über die erste Anlage einer neuen Kolonie von Atta cephalotes''. Paper presented at the C.r. 6th Congr. Int. Zool., Berne * Goeldi, E. A. (1905). Os mosquitos do Pará. Reunião de quatro trabalhos sobre os mosquitos indígenas, principalmente as espécies que molestam o homem. ''Mem. Museu E. Goeldi'', 4, 1-152 * Goeldi, E. A. (1908 (1909)). ''Microtrogon'' novo nome genérico proposto para ''Trogon ramonianus'' Des Murs. ''Bol. Mus. Para. Hist. Nat. Ethnogr., (Mus. Pará), 5''(1), 92-95 * Goeldi, E. A. (1911). ''Der Ameisenstaat, seine Entstehung und seine Einrichtung, die Organisation der Arbeit und die Naturwunder seines Haushaltes''. Leipzig & Berlin: Teubner

References

* Struder, T. (1917). Professor Dr. Emil August Goeldi (1859–1917). ''Verhandlungen der schweizerischen naturforschenden Gesellschaft'', Zürich 1917, 36-59 * Papavero, N. (1973). ''Essays on the history of Neotropical dipterology, with special reference to collectors (1750-1905)''. São Paulo: Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo * Cunha, O. R. (1983). Emílio Augusto Goeldi (1859–1917). ''Ciência e Cultura, 35''(12), 1965–1972

External links

"Göldi, Émil August" (in Portuguese)
(Site homepage: "Dicionário Histórico-Biográfico das Ciências da Saúde no Brasil (1832-1930). Casa de Oswaldo Cruz/Fiocruz" at

.
Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goeldi, Emil 1857 births 1917 deaths Swiss emigrants to Brazil Brazilian zoologists Goldi, Emil Expatriate academics in Brazil Brazilian people of Swiss descent Swiss expatriates in the German Empire