Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim (russian: Григо́рий Ива́нович Фи́шер фон Ва́льдгейм, translit=Grigórij Ivánovič Fíšer fon Vál'dgejm; 13 October 1771 – 18 October 1853) was a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...

and

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

. Fischer was born as Gotthilf Fischer in Waldheim,

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

, the son of a

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

weaver. He studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

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 ...

. He travelled to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

with his friend

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister ...

and studied under

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in na ...

. He took up a professorship at

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, and then in 1804 became Professor of Natural History and Director of the Demidov Natural History Museum at the

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. In August 1805 he founded the

Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou Moscow Society of Naturalists (russian: Московское общество испытателей природы (MOIP)) is one of Russia's oldest learned societies. In 1805 it was founded as the Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow (''S ...

. Fischer was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1812 and a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1818. Fischer was mainly engaged in the classification of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chorda ...

s, the result of which was his ''Entomographia Imperii Rossici'' (1820–1851). He also spent time studying

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s from the area around Moscow. Due to his work studying the insects of Russia, the Russian government granted him nobility as well as the "von Waldheim" ending to his name.

Partial list of publications

*''Versuch über die Schwimmblase der Fische'', Leipzig 1795 *''Mémoire pour servir d'introduction à un ouvrage sur la respiration des animaux'', Paris 1798 *''J. Ingenhousz über Ernährung der Pflanzen und Fruchtbarkeit des Bodens aus dem Englischen übersetzt und mit Anmerkungen versehen von Gotthelf Fischer. Nebst einer Einleitung über einige Gegenstände der Pflanzenphysiologie von F. A. von Humboldt'', Leipzig 1798 *''Ueber die verschiedene Form des Intermaxillarknochens in verschiedenen Thieren'', Leipzig 1800 *''Beschreibung einiger typographischer Seltenheiten. Nebst Beyträgen zur Erfindungsgeschichte der Buchdruckerkunst'', Mainz und Nürnberg 1800 *''Naturhistorische Fragmente'', Frankfurt am Main 1801 *''Beschreibung typographischer Seltenheiten und merkwürdiger Handschriften nebst Beyträgen zur Erfindungsgeschichte der Buchdruckerkunst'', Mainz um 1801 *''Essai sur les monuments typographiques de Jean Gutenberg, Mayençais, inventeur de l'imprimerie'', Mainz 1801/1802 *''Das Nationalmuseum der Naturgeschichte zu Paris'', 1802 *''Vorlesungen über vergleichende Anatomie'', deutsche Übersetzung der Vorlesungen

s, Braunschweig 1801–1802 *''Lettre au citoyen E. Geoffroy ... sur une ouvelle espèce de Loris : accompagnée de la description d'un craniomètre de nouvelle invention'', Mainz 1804 *''Anatomie der Maki und der ihnen verwandten Thiere'', Frankfurt am Main 1804 *''Tableaux synoptiques de zoognose'', 1805 *''Museum Demidoff, ou catalogue systématique et raisonné des curiosités etc. donnés a l'université de Moscou par Paul de Demidoff'', Moskau 1806 *''Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de l'université impériale de Moscou'', 18069 *''Notices sur les fossiles de Moscou'', 1809–1811 *''Notices d'un animal fossile de Sibérie'', 1811 *''Onomasticon du Système d'Oryctognoise'', 1811 *
Zoognosia tabulis synopticis illustrata
in usum prälectionum Academiae Imperialis Medico-Chirurgicae Mosquentis edita'', Moskau 1813 *''Observations sur quelques Diptères de Russie'', 1813 *''Essai sur la Turquoie et sur la Calaite'', Moskau 1816 *
Adversaria zoologica
', 1817–1823 *''Entomographie de la Russie'', Moskau 1820–1851 *''Prodromus Petromatognosiae animalium systematicae, continens bibliographiam animalium fossilium'', Moskau 1829–1832 *''Oryctographie du gouvernement de Moscou'', 1830–1837 *''Bibliographia Palaeonthologica Animalium Systematica'', Moskau 1834 *''Einige Worte an die Mainzer, bei der Feierlichkeit des dem Erfinder der Buchdruckerkunst Johann Gutenberg in Mainz zu errichtenden Denkmals'', Moskau 1836 *''Recherches sur les ossements fossiles de la Russie'', Moskau 1836–1839 *''Spicilegium entomoraphiae Rossicae'', Moskau 1844

References

*''Biographies for Birdwatchers'', Barbara and Richard Mearns

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer von Waldheim, Johann German entomologists German paleontologists German taxonomists 1771 births 1853 deaths German anatomists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Waldheim, Saxony Russian nobility Moscow State University faculty Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences 18th-century German scientists 18th-century German zoologists 19th-century German zoologists 18th-century German writers 18th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers