Alexander Moritzi (1806-1850) was a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
naturalist and early proponent of
evolution.
Moritzi born in
Chur,
Graubünden. His ''Réflexions sur l'espèce en histoire naturelle'', which means "Reflections on Species in Natural History," was published in 1842 and republished in 1934. This book, which contains many observations on animals and plants, advocated
transmutation of species and is considered a forerunner of the theory of
evolution developed by
Charles Darwin. However, the book was ignored and did not make an impact like Darwin's.
Snow dock was first discovered by Moritzi in 1836 in the
Swiss Alps
The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...
.
In 1840,
DC. ex
Meisn. published ''
Moritzia'' a genus of
flowering plants from South America, belonging to the family
Boraginaceae in Moritzi's honour.
Selected publications
*''Réflexions sur l'espèce en histoire naturelle'' (1842)
References
Further reading
*Arnold Lang. (1906)
''Alexander Moritzi, Ein schweizerischer Vorläufer Darwins'' C. Gassmann.
1806 births
1850 deaths
Proto-evolutionary biologists
Swiss naturalists
Taxon authorities
People from Chur
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