Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link (2 February 1767 – 1 January 1851) was a German
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
botanist
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
.
Biography
Link was born at
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...
as a son of the minister August Heinrich Link (1738–1783), who taught him love of nature through collection of 'natural objects'. He studied medicine and natural sciences at the Hannoverschen Landesuniversität of
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
, and graduated as MD in 1789, promoting on his thesis ''"Flora der Felsgesteine rund um Göttingen"'' (Flora of the rocky beds around Göttingen). One of his teachers was the famous natural scientist
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 has be ...
(1752–1840). He became a private tutor (''Privatdozent'') in Göttingen.
In 1792, he became the first professor of the new department of
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
and
botany
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
at the
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...
. During his stay at Rostock, he became an early follower of the antiphlogistic theory of
Lavoisier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), CNRS (
oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
instead of phlogiston. He was also a proponent of the attempts of Richter to involve mathematics in chemistry, introducing
stoichiometry
Stoichiometry () is the relationships between the masses of reactants and Product (chemistry), products before, during, and following chemical reactions.
Stoichiometry is based on the law of conservation of mass; the total mass of reactants must ...
in his chemistry lessons. In 1806, he set up the first chemical laboratory at Rostock in the "Seminargebäude". He began to write an abundant number of articles and books on the most different subjects, such as physics and chemistry, geology and mineralogy, botany and zoology, natural philosophy and ethics, prehistoric and early history. He was twice elected rector of the university.
In 1793, he married Charlotte Juliane Josephi (1768?–1829), sister of his colleague at the university Prof. Wilhelm Josephi (1763–1845).
During 1797–1799, he visited
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
with
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg
Johann Centurius Hoffmann Graf von Hoffmannsegg (23 August 1766 – 13 December 1849) was a German botanist, entomologist and ornithologist.
Hoffmannsegg was born at Rammenau and studied at Leipzig and Göttingen. He travelled through Europe a ...
, a botanist,
entomologist
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
and
ornithologist
Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
from
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
. This trip made him finally choose botany as his main scientific calling.
In 1800, he was elected to the prestigious Leopoldina Academy, the oldest school for natural history in Europe.
In 1808, he was awarded a prize at the Academy of
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
for his monography ''Von der Natur und den Eigenschaften des Lichts'' (nature and characteristics of light).
His scientific reputation grew and became widely known. In 1811, he was appointed professor of chemistry and botany at Breslau university, where he was equally elected twice rector of the university.
After the death of
Carl Ludwig Willdenow
Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. ...
in 1815, he became professor of natural history, curator of the herbarium and director of the botanic garden (''Hortus regius Berolinensis'') in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
until he died. This period became the most fruitful period of his academic life. He augmented the collection of the garden to 14,000 specimens, many of them rare plants. He worked in close collaboration with Cristoph Friedrich Otto (1783–1856), conservator at the botanical garden. In 1827, he named with him the
cacti
A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...
genera ''
Echinocactus
''Echinocactus'' is a genus of cacti in the subfamily Cactoideae. The generic name derives from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient w ...
'' and ''
Melocactus
''Melocactus'' (melon cactus), also known as the Turk's head cactus, Turk's cap cactus, or Pope's head cactus, is a genus of cactus with about 30–40 species. They are native to the Caribbean, western Mexico through Central America to northern S ...
''. Most of the
fungi
A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
that he named, are still recognised under the original name, proving the high quality of his work (such as '' Cordyceps'', '' Creopus'', ''
Fusarium
''Fusarium'' (; ) is a large genus of filamentous fungi, part of a group often referred to as hyphomycetes, widely distributed in soil and associated with plants. Most species are harmless saprobes, and are relatively abundant members of the s ...
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...
, which elected him a foreign member in 1840.
He trained a whole new generation of natural scientists, such as
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (19 April 1795 – 27 June 1876) was a German Natural history, naturalist, zoologist, Botany, botanist, comparative anatomist, geologist, and microscopy, microscopist. He is considered to be one of the most famous an ...
(1795–1876). Throughout his life, he travelled extensively throughout Europe. He benefited from his knowledge of foreign languages, including
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and ancient
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
.
He died in Berlin on 1 January 1851, a month before his 84th birthday. He was succeeded by Alexander Heinrich Braun (1805–1877),
He is recognised as one of the last scientists of the 19th century with a universal knowledge. Link was also one of the few German botanists of his time, who aimed at a complete understanding of plants, through a systematic anatomical and physiological research.
His most important work is the ''Handbuch zur Erkennung der nutzbarsten und am häufigsten vorkommenden Gewächse'' (three volumes, published between 1829 and 1833).
Selected works
*
* ''Grundlehren der Anatomie und Physiologie der Pflanzen'' (Göttingen. 1807); (Fundamental principles of the anatomy and physiology of plants) (proving for the first time that plant cells existed independently and were not part of a homogeneous vegetable mass).
* ''Nachträge zu den Grundlehren etc.'' (Göttingen. 1809) (Supplement to the fundamental principles etc. )
* ''Die Urwelt und das Altertum, erläutert durch die Naturkunde'' (Berlin 1820–1822, 2nd ed. 1834); (Prehistoric times and antiquity, explained by natural history)
* Digital edition by the
University and State Library Düsseldorf
The University and State Library Düsseldorf (, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of the three State Libraries of North Rhine-Westphalia.
...
* Erster Theil (1829).
* Zweiter Theil (1831).
* Dritter Theil (1833). * ''Das Altertum und der Übergang zur neuern Zeit'' (Berlin 1842); (Antiquity and the transition to modern times)
* ''Elementa philosophiae botanicae'' (Berlin 1824; 2nd ed., in Latin and German 1837);
* ''Anatomisch-botanische Abbildungen zur Erläuterung der Grundlehren der Kräuterkunde'' (Berlin 1837–42); (Anatomical-botanical illustrations explaining the basic teachings for herbalists)
* ''Ausgewählte anatomisch-botanische Abbildungen'' (Berlin 1839–42) (Selected anatomical botanical illustrations) (
* ''Filicum species in horto regio Berolinensi cultae'' (Berlin 1841) (Fern species in Berlin botanical garden)
* ''Anatomie der Pflanzen in Abbildungen'' (Berlin. 1843–47). (Illustrated anatomy of plants)
* He published together with Friedrich Otto :
** ''Icones plantarum selectarum horti regii botanici Berolinensis'' (Berlin 1820–28) (Illustrations of selected plants in Berlin botanic garden)
* He published with Christoph Friedrich Otto (this work was finished by the Friedrich Klotzsch, 1841–1844, curator at the Botanical Museum)
*** ''Icones plantarum rariorum horti regii botanici Berolinensis'' (Berlin 1828–31) (Illustrations of rare plants in the Berlin botanic garden)
* He published together with count von Hoffmansegg
** ''Flore portugaise"'' (Berlin. 1809–1840) (Portuguese Flora) (remaining a standard work for a long time)