Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin (16 February 172726 October 1817) was a scientist who 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 ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

and

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

Biography

Selectarum Stirpium Americanarum Historia

Born in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...

in the Netherlands, he studied medicine at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city o ...

, then moved first to Paris and afterward 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 ...

. In 1752, he studied under Gerard van Swieten in Vienna. Between 1755 and 1759, Jacquin was sent to the West Indies, Central America, Venezuela and New Granada by

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

to collect plants for the Schönbrunn Palace, and amassed a large collection of animal, plant and mineral samples. In 1797,

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 ...

profited from studying these collections and conversing with Jacquin in preparation of his own journey to the Americas. In 1763, Jacquin became professor of chemistry 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 Bergakademie Schemnitz (now

Banská Štiavnica Banská Štiavnica (; german: Schemnitz; hu, Selmecbánya (Selmec), ) is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as the Štiavnica Mountai ...

in Slovakia). In 1768, he was appointed Professor of Botany and Chemistry and became director of the

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

s of the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...

. For his work, he received the title '' Edler'' in 1774. In 1783, he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

. In 1806, he was created a baron. In 1809, he became a correspondent of the Royal Institute, which later became the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

. His younger son, Emil Gottfried (1767–1792), and his daughter, Franziska (1769–1850), were friends of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

; Mozart wrote two songs for Gottfried to publish under Gottfried's name (" Als Luise ...", K. 520, and " Das Traumbild", K. 530) and gave piano lessons to Franziska. Mozart dedicated a considerable number of his works to the Jacquin family, notably the Kegelstatt Trio. This was first played at the Jacquins' house in August 1786 with Franziska playing the piano. His son Joseph Franz (1766–1839) succeeded him as professor of botany and chemistry at the University of Vienna and wrote several notable botanical books. Von Jacquin died in Vienna. He is commemorated by the genera '' Jacquinia'' ( Theophrastaceae) and '' Jacquiniella'' (

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

). In 2011, the Austrian Mint issued silver coins to mark his science expeditions to the Caribbean.

Publications

''Enumeratio systematica plantarum''
(1760)
''Enumeratio Stirpium Plerarumque''
(1762)
''Selectarum Stirpium Americanarum''
(1763) *''Observationum Botanicarum''

1764

1767

1768

1771)
''Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis''
(3 volumes, 1770–1776) with plates by

Franz Anton von Scheidel Franz Anton von Scheidel (1731–1801) was a German natural history artist, noted for his botanical illustrations of Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin's ''Hortus botanicus Vindobonensis'' (Botanical Garden of Vienna), which was published in three fasci ...

''Florae Austriacae''
(5 volumes, 1773–1778)
''Icones Plantarum Rariorum''
(3 volumes, 1781–1793)
''Plantarum Rariorum Horti Caesarei Schoenbrunnensis''
(4 volumes, 1797–1804)
''Fragmenta Botanica 1804–1809''
(1809)
''Nicolai Josephi Jacquin collectaneorum supplementum ...''''Oxalis :Monographia iconibus illustrata''''Dreyhundert auserlesene amerikanische Gewächse nach linneischer Ordnung''
(with Zorn, Johannes) * ''Nikolaus Joseph Edlen von Jacquin's Anfangsgründe der medicinisch-practischen Chymie : zum Gebrauche seiner Vorlesungen'' . Wappler, Vienna 178
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf * ''Nikolaus Joseph Edlen von Jacquin's Anfangsgründe der medicinisch-practischen Chymie : zum Gebrauche seiner Vorlesungen'' . Wappler, Vienna, 2nd. ed. 178
Digital edition
by the University and State Library Düsseldorf

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacquin, Nikolaus Joseph von 1727 births 1817 deaths People from Leiden 18th-century Austrian botanists Austrian explorers Austrian mycologists Austrian ornithologists Barons of Austria Botanists active in North America Botanists active in the Caribbean Bryologists Dutch bryologists 18th-century Dutch botanists 18th-century Dutch chemists Dutch mycologists 18th-century Dutch naturalists Fellows of the Royal Society Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Phycologists Pteridologists