Christian Hee Hwass (1731–1803) was a Danish

malacologist Malacology, from Ancient Greek μαλακός (''malakós''), meaning "soft", and λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (molluscs or mollusks), the second-largest ...

who is remembered for his work in

conchology Conchology, from Ancient Greek κόγχος (''kónkhos''), meaning "cockle (bivalve), cockle", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of mollus ...

. Although he was born in Denmark, Hwass did most of his important work in France. He moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1780 and later to Auteuil in 1794. In France, he collaborated with famous scientists

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biologi ...

(1744–1829) and

Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher (15 November 1757 in Glückstadt, Holstein – 9 December 1830) was a Denmark, Danish surgeon, botanist and professor of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen. Schumacher carried out significant research ...

(1757–1830), a fellow Dane on a research trip in Paris during the 1780s. Hwass is remembered for amassing a large shell collection that included numerous rare specimens. Many European scientists used the collection as a reference work for their personal publications. Hwass's best-known written work was the 1792 publication of '' Encyclopedie Methodique''. Although his friend,

Jean Guillaume Bruguière Jean Guillaume Bruguière (19 July 1749 – 3 October 1798) was a French physician, zoologist and diplomat. Biography Bruguière was born in Montpellier, France, on 19 July 1749.Comptes rendus du Congrès national des sociétés savantes: Se ...

(1750–1798), is often credited as author of the

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

, the majority of the work was done by Hwass.

References

External links

* Dodge H. (1946). "A letter concerning the cones of Hwass and other collections in Switzerland". ''

The Nautilus ''Nautilus'' is the fictional submarine belonging to Captain Nemo featured in Jules Verne's novels ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (1870) and '' The Mysterious Island'' (1875). Description ''Nautilus'' is described by Verne as ...

'' 59(3)
97
101. 1731 births 1803 deaths Conchologists Danish malacologists {{Zoologist-stub