Johann Reinhold Forster (22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German
Reformed (Calvinist) pastor and
naturalist of partially Scottish descent who made contributions to the early
ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and t ...
of Europe and North America. He is best known as the naturalist on
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
's
second Pacific voyage, where he was accompanied by his son
Georg Forster. These expeditions promoted the career of Johann Reinhold Forster and the findings became the bedrock of colonial professionalism and helped set the stage for the future development of anthropology and ethnology. They also laid the framework for general concern about the impact that alteration of the physical environment for European economic expansion would have on exotic societies.
Biography
Forster's family originated in the
Lords Forrester in Scotland from where his great-grandfather had emigrated after losing most of his property during the rule of
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...
along with many other Scots. Forster himself was born in the city of Dirschau (
Tczew) in the
Crown of Poland. He studied languages and natural history at the
Joachimsthal Gymnasium in Berlin, theology at the
University of Halle, afterwards serving as a Protestant pastor in
Mokry Dwór (Nassenhuben)
Pomeranian Voivodship. He married his cousin Elisabeth Nikolai. They had several children including a son,
Georg Forster and a daughter
Virginia Viktoria.
In 1765 he accepted an offer made to him by the Russian government to inspect and report upon the new colonies founded on the banks of the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...
, in the province of
Saratov
Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901, ...
.
His irritable temper soon involved him in difficulties with the Russian government, and in the following year he went with Georg (the eldest of eight children, seven of which survived childhood) to England and became teacher of natural history at
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
, Lancashire.
He spent three years teaching at the Dissenting
Warrington Academy, succeeding
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted ...
. Compelled by his violent temper to resign this appointment, Forster then moved with his son to London, where they earned a precarious living by doing translations.
[ In 1771, he published ''A Catalogue of the Animals of North America'', which listed the region's mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, insects, arachnids, and crustaceans, and led to his election to the Royal Society of London in 1772.
When ]Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
withdrew at the last moment as naturalist on Cook's second voyage, Forster and his son were appointed to fill the vacant position. In July 1772 they set sail on the '' Resolution'', returning to England in July 1775. During a stop in Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, Forster engaged Anders Sparrman to act as his assistant.
Both the Forsters kept detailed diaries of everything they saw on the voyage, and made extensive collections of both natural history specimens and artefacts. The first publication after the voyage was ''Characteres generum plantarum
''Characteres generum plantarum'' (complete title , "Characteristics of the types of plants collected, described, and delineated during a voyage to islands of the South Seas, in the years 1772–1775 by Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster ...
'', a book on the botany of the South Pacific. Based on his father's journals, Georg published '' A Voyage Round the World'' in 1777. Reinhold Forster published '' Observations Made during a Voyage round the World'' (1778). However the income from the book was insufficient to clear his debts, and the bulk of Georg's drawings from the voyage had to be sold to Joseph Banks. During the next few years Forster undertook a variety of writing work, including a German translation of Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant (14 June OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales.
As a naturalist he had ...
's ''Arctic Zoology''.
Johann Reinhold’s "Observations Made During a Voyage Round the World" (1778) and Georg’s "A Voyage Round the World" (1777). "Employing the English word “race” as a synonym for human variety, they interpret the multiplicity of Polynesian culture in terms of a linear hierarchy that naturally ascends towards the white European ideal."
In November 1779 Forster was appointed Professor of Natural history and Mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...
at the University of Halle, and director of the Botanische Garten der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, where he remained until his death. His ''Descriptiones animalium'', completed within a month of returning to England with Cook, was eventually edited by Hinrich Lichtenstein and published in 1844.
Forster's contributions to the '' Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' (1772–73) on zoology, ornithology, and ichthyology established him as one of the earliest authorities on North American zoology.
Forster was elected 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 1793.
See also
* European and American voyages of scientific exploration
* :Taxa named by Johann Reinhold Forster
References
External links
Scans of ''Specimen Historiae Naturalis Volgensis''
at the Göttinger Digitalisierungszentrum The Center for Retrospective Digitization in Göttingen (german: Göttinger DigitalisierungsZentrum, GDZ) is an online system for archiving academic journals maintained by the University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the ...
Biography
at the Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
SUB Göttingen
Forster, J. R. 1771.''Novæ species insectorum.'' Centuria I. Londini. (Davies, White).
Gaedike, R.; Groll, E. K. & Taeger, A. 2012: Bibliography of the entomological literature from the beginning until 1863 : online database – version 1.0 – Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut.
Indische Zoologie 1781
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Johann Reinhold
1729 births
1798 deaths
People from Tczew
Botanists with author abbreviations
Botanists active in the Pacific
Bryologists
Fellows of the Royal Society
18th-century German botanists
German entomologists
People from Royal Prussia
18th-century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth people
German ornithologists
James Cook
German people of Scottish descent