Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (14 February 1776 – 16 March 1858) was a prolific

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

botanist 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 wo ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He described approximately 7,000 plant species (almost as many as Linnaeus himself). His last official act as president of the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina was to admit

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

as a member. He was the author of numerous monographs on botany and zoology. His best-known works deal with

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...

Biography

Nees von Esenbeck was born in Schloss Reichenberg near Reichelsheim (Odenwald). He showed an early interest in science and, after receiving his primary education in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...

, he went on to the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The ...

, obtaining his degree in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

(natural history) and

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 ...

in 1800. He practiced as a physician for

Francis I (Erbach-Erbach) Antique collection in the Erbach Palace Franz Graf zu Erbach-Erbach (29 October 1754 – 8 March 1823) was a German nobleman and art collector. Early life Franz was born in Erbach im Odenwald in 1754 as the only son of Count Georg Wilhelm v ...

, but he had developed a great interest in botany during his university studies, and eventually he returned to

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. In 1816 he joined the Leopoldina Academy, which was one of the most prestigious institutions in Europe. In 1817 he was appointed professor of botany at the University of Erlangen. Three years later he became professor of natural history at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

, where he established the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, and in 1831 he was appointed to the chair of botany at the University of Breslau. In 1818 he was elected president of the Leopoldina Academy. He continued as president of the academy for the rest of his life. In botany he achieved notoriety for, among other things, contributions to the families

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in tem ...

and

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur m ...

. He became politically active in the German revolutions of 1848–1849. In 1851 due to conflicts with the government he was deprived of his professorship and pension at Breslau. Seven years later Nees von Esenbeck died essentially penniless in Breslau. He was an older brother to botanist Theodor Friedrich Ludwig Nees von Esenbeck (1787–1837).

Honours

In 1936, botanist Wilhelm Kirschstein published ''

Myconeesia ''Myconeesia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Xylariaceae. The genus name of ''Myconeesia'' is in honour of Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (1776–1858), who was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural ph ...

'', a genus of

in the family

Xylariaceae The Xylariaceae are a family of mostly small ascomycetous fungi. It is one of the most commonly encountered groups of ascomycetes and is found throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the world. They are typically found on wood, seeds, f ...

and named in his honour. In 1940, botanist Pilg. published '' Neesiochloa'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian plants in the

grass family Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

, in Nees von Esenbeck's honour. Then in 1947, botanist Margaret Rutherford Bryan Levyns published '' Neesenbeckia'', a monotypic genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

s from South Africa, belonging to the family

Cyperaceae The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus '' Carex'' ...

, in Nees von Esenbeck's honour.

Works

* ''Die Algen des süßen Wassers, nach ihren Entwickelungsstufen dargestellt (1814) * ''Das System der Pilze und Schwämme'' (1816) * ''Vorlesungen zur Entwickelungsgeschichte des magnetischen Schlafs und Traums'' (1820) * ''Handbuch der Botanik. Band 1'' (1820
Digital edition
by the

University and State Library Düsseldorf The University and State Library Düsseldorf (german: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of t ...

* ''Handbuch der Botanik. Band 2'' (1821
Digital edition
by the

* ''Bryologia germanica'' (with Christian Friedrich Hornschuch und Jacob Sturm, 1823–31, 2 Bände mit 43 Tafeln) * ''Plantarum, in Horto medico Bonnensi nutritarum, Icones selectae'' (1824
Digital edition
by the

* ''Agrostologia brasiliensis'' (1829) * ''Genera Plantarum Florae Germanicae'' (1831–1860) * ''Genera et species Asterearum'' (1833) * ''Naturgeschichte der europäischen Lebermoose mit Erinnerungen aus dem Riesengebirge'' (1833-38, 4 Bände) * ''Hymenopterorum Ichneumonibus affinium monographiae'' (1834, 2 Bände) * ''System der spekulativen Philosophie'', Band 1 *'' Systema Laurinarum'' (1836) * ''Florae Africae australioris illustration monographicae Gramineae'' (1841) * ''Die Naturphilosophie'' (1841) * ''De Cinnamomo disputatio'' (1843) * ''Synopsis hepaticarum'' (with

Carl Moritz Gottsche Carl Moritz Gottsche (3 July 1808 – 28 September 1892) was a German physician and bryologist born in Altona. He was the father of geologist Carl Christian Gottsche (1859-1909). Gottsche was a leading authority of Hepaticae. With Christian Got ...

und Johann Lindenberg, 1844–1847) *''Die allgemeine Formenlehre der Natur'' (1852)

References

External links

* http://www.nees-von-esenbeck.de/ (German language site devoted to Nees von Esenbeck; includes extensive biography) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nees von Esenbeck, Christian Gottfried Daniel German taxonomists 01 19th-century German zoologists 1776 births 1858 deaths Agrostologists Bryologists Pteridologists German entomologists German mycologists German phycologists Botanists with author abbreviations Presidents of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina German religious humanists University of Jena alumni University of Erlangen-Nuremberg faculty University of Bonn faculty University of Breslau faculty People from Odenwaldkreis 19th-century German botanists Member of the Prussian National Assembly

Biography

Honours

Works

References

Further reading

External links