Jānis Ilsters (14 May 1851Jānis Ilsters was born in 1851 on 2 May (

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

) or 14 May according to the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

. – 5 May 1889) was a Latvian

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 ...

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions). Overview Autodi ...

, teacher,

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

collector and poet. Often cited as the "first Latvian botanist" as he has written the first textbook of botany in Latvian "''Botany for common schools and self-study. Elementary course.''" ("''Botānika tautskolām un pašmācībai. Elementārkurss.''"). He has published some works under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Daugavietis" (from Latvian: " personof

Daugava The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

"). Ilsters is known for his contribution in the development of botanical terminology in Latvian, introducing such terms as "''suga''" (

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

) and "''valsts''" ( kingdom), as well as finding and documenting around 500 Latvian names of plant species. His

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

contains 1300 leaves, which now reside in the Latvian Museum of Natural History and Botanical and

mycological Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

collection of

University of Latvia University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on Se ...

Life

Early life

Ilsters was born in Gretes house, Vestiena parish, nowadays belonging to

Madona municipality Madona Municipality () is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The administrative center is Madona. The total area of the municipality is , and the population in January 2013 was 26,953.Madona municipality Population Register Of these, economically ...

, on May 14, 1851 as the second child in the family having a total number of seven siblings, namely sisters Anna, Karlīne and Ede, and brothers Atis, Kārlis and Viļums. It is known that Viļums' daughter Tekla IlstereSome sources mention Tekla's name as ''Tikla''. (1904–1983) was a composer and a choir

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

. He was educated at the Lutheran school of

Ērgļi parish Ērgļi is a small town in the Ērgļi Parish of Madona Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia on the banks of the Ogre (river), Ogre river. It serves as the administrative center for Ērgļi Parish. Ērgļi had 2,769 residents as of 2017 ...

during the period 1864–1868. In 1871, Ilsters completed his exam in

Cēsis Cēsis (; (, , , ) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river, overlooking the woods below. Cēsis was selected to b ...

, qualifying him as a "parish-schoolteacher". Other necessary knowledge Ilsters gained by

self-study Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions). Overview Autodida ...

Work and employment

In 1870, Ilsters started working as a

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

in a German colony of Irši (''Iršu kolonija'', or also ''Liepkalnes kolonija''), in Irši manor (''Iršu muiža'', in German – ''Hirschenhof''). Here, working for Ūzani house owner Asmus, Ilsters wrote a line in his notes: "There is quite a lot of work, but I am feeling content, without a worry, but a joyful mind." He worked there until 1872. In 1873, Ilsters used his qualification to apply for a job in Vestiena parish school, where he worked as a

teaching assistant A teaching assistant (TA) or education assistant (EA) is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teach ...

. During this time, the journalist, bibliographer and folklore collector Matīss Ārons (also known as Āronu Matīss), who later went on to write Ilsters' biography and Ilsters' unpublished works, was gaining his education as a pupil. The correspondence between Ilsters and Ārons is preserved in the academical library of University of Latvia. In the years between 1875–1876 and 1878–1882, Ilsters worked as a teacher in the Residential Child Care Community of Ozolaine, also called Eihenheim (''Ozolaines jeb Eihenheimas bērnu patversme'') in Sarkandaugava neighbourhood of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. In the winter between the years 1876–1877, he taught at Liezēre parish school, where he gained positive feedback from pupils and their parents. Overall, Ilsters' teaching methods were reported to have a scientific approach to studies, including precise terminology, while also making it entertaining for children. He started collecting folklore about nature to improve students' creative thinking and their motivation to study, as well as the respect for nature and history. In his first textbook, he included some folk material too – traditional uses of medicinal plants. Ilsters also worked in Stukmaņi (nowadays –

Pļaviņas Pļaviņas (; ) is a town in Aizkraukle Municipality in Latvia. The town is located on the Daugava river. The population in 2020 was 2,974. Latvian law defines the town of Pļaviņas as belonging partly to the Vidzeme region and partly to Latgale ...

) as a tutor (1882–1885) and as an accountant and correspondent (1885–1888), and during this time of stay, he developed a guidemap of

river valley from Stukmaņi to

Koknese Koknese () is a town in Aizkraukle Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the right bank of the Daugava River. It has a population of nearly 3,000. According to the provisions of the 2021 Latvian administrative reform, Koknese gained ...

. Other notable places of employment include his job in "Rota" (''"Ornament"'') magazine, as well as participation in Latvian Association of Riga (nowadays reestablished) and Natural Researcher Association of Riga (discontinued). After the bankruptcy of "Rota" magazine, Ilsters was planning to establish his own magazine "Latvijas Zemkopis" (''"Latvian Agriculturist"''). Ilsters wrote enough material for the first two magazine issues, but never got to publish it because of his health issues, and instead returned home.

Death

Jānis Ilsters died from an unknown heart condition at the age of 37, in his family house Gretes. For a year until his death, he continued teaching children of his family and relatives. Ilsters' memorial was erected on May 23, 1973, in Gretes. On May 27, 2013, the memorial was renewed. Latvian algologist Heinrich Skuja commemorated his name by including Ilsters' surname in his newly discovered representative of '' Ilsteria'' genus – '' Ilsteria quadrijuncta.'' Two algae species from different genus Skuja also distinguished by using Ilsters' surname, namely '' Oedogonium ilsteri'' and '' Tetrarcus ilsteri''. In memoriam, Vestiena parish's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

includes a plant from Ilsters' first textbook – the common hepatica.

Legacy

Legacy in biology

Ilsters has published 41 scientific and educational works, as well as magazine publishings about

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

, folklore and regional studies. He has collected 18 herbarium volumes called "Flora Baltica", most of which consisted of plants of Daugava valley. Asides botanical terminology, Ilsters was developing zoological terminology and a list of Latvian birds, which remains handwritten and unfinished. In his works, Ilsters paid attention to the natural and artificial migration route impact on the development of Latvian

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 ...

, especially alongside Daugava river valley. His researches mostly focused on

adventive species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

of Latvia,

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...

, and local flora.

Folklore preservation

A notable part of Ilsters' work consisted of his contribution to the collection of folklore, resulting in 865

dainas A daina or tautas dziesma is a traditional form of music or poetry from Latvia. Daina (Lithuania), Lithuanian ''dainos'' share common traits with them, but have been more influenced by European folk song traditions. Latvian dainas often feature dr ...

for the Krišjānis Barons' collection "Latvju Dainas" (''"Latvian Dainas"''), 32 teikas (folkstories) for Ansis Lerhis-Puškaitis' compilation "Latviešu tautas teikas un pasakas" (''"Latvian folk stories and fairytales"''), and 40 folk beliefs (non-religious superstitions) forwarded to Pēteris Šmits' "Latviešu tautas ticējumi" (''"Latvian folk beliefs"''). After his death, Ilsters' other works were saved by Āronu Matīss, which resulted in Ilsters' poem and poem translation book "Sīkrozītes, magonītes jeb dzejas ziediņi" (''"Daisies, poppies or poem flowers"''), published in 1889.

References

Notes

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilsters, Jānis 1851 births 1889 deaths Botanists from the Russian Empire Poets from the Russian Empire Latvian poets People from Madona Municipality Latvian botanists