Dr. Alfredo Jahn Hartman (8 October 1867 – 12 July 1940) was a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

. Jahn was a member of the Academy of History, the Academy of Physical Sciences,

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and Naturalist of Venezuela and the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences and achieved the

Order of the Liberator The Order of the Liberator was the highest distinction of Venezuela and was appointed for services to the country, outstanding merit and benefits made to the community. For Venezuelans the order ranks first in the order of precedence from other o ...

. He was also an

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

and

mountain climber Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

. There is a large cave named after Jahn, "Cueva Alfredo Jahn" (The Alfredo Jahn cave). In 1911 he became the first person to

ascend ASCEND is an open source, mathematical modelling chemical process modelling system developed at Carnegie Mellon University since late 1978. ASCEND is an acronym which stands for Advanced System for Computations in Engineering Design. Its main uses ...

Pico Humboldt Pico Humboldt is Venezuela's second highest peak, at 4,925 metres above sea level. It is located in the Sierra Nevada de Merida, in the Venezuelan Andes of ( Mérida State). The peak, its sister peak Pico Bonpland, and the surrounding páramos ...

in the

Sierra Nevada de Mérida The Sierra Nevada de Mérida is the highest mountain range in the largest massif in Venezuela, the Cordillera de Mérida, which in turn is part of the northern extent of the Cordillera de los Andes (Andes Mountains). The Sierra Nevada de Mérida i ...

in Venezuela.

Background and personal life

Alfredo Jahn was the son of Friedrich Gottfried Alfred Jahn Wassmann, born in Caracas on 10 June 1846, and Eugenia Hartmann, born in

Bremen, Germany Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the German state of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. W ...

on 8 July 1847. In 1876 he was taken to

Hanover, Germany Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest in northern Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Breme ...

, and entered the Secondary School of the locality. He continued studies at

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies first met near ...

, Saxony province, where he received military training. In 1882 he went to Berlin to continue his education for a short time, returning again to the Hannover School of Engineering. For family reasons he was forced to return to Caracas, where he continued studies at the

Universidad Central de Venezuela Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

, where he majored in

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

s under the leadership of

Adolf Ernst Adolf Ernst (October 6, 1832 – August 12, 1899) was a Prussian-born scientist. Ernst settled in Venezuela in 1861, where he taught at the Central University of Venezuela. He became the most important scientist in the country during the second h ...

. On 25 July 1891 he married Aurelia Lopez. They had a total of 10 children. *Maria Aurelia Jahn Lopez born in Caracas on 13 June 1892 *Eugenia Jahn Lopez born in Maracay on 23 August 1893 *Alfredo Jahn Lopez born in La Victoria on 4 April 1895 *Gustavo Jahn Lopez born in La Victoria on 25 July 1896 *Margarita Jahn Lopez born in La Victoria on 6 October 1898 *Carlos Jahn Lopez born in La Victoria on 19 December 1899 *Luisa Cristina Jahn Lopez born in La Victoria on 21 June 1901 *Carmen Jahn Lopez born in Caracas on 31 January 1904 *Angelina Jahn Lopez born in Caracas on 27 May 1905 *Isabel Jahn Lopez born in Caracas on 30 January 1910

Career

Jahn finished his studies at the end of 1886, and became an assistant engineer on railway construction. The following year, he participated in the preliminary studies for the construction of a major railroad between Caracas and

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

with extension to San Carlos. He worked with civil engineer and lawyer German Jimenez in the National Plan of Highways and Railroads of

by order of the National Government. He was responsible for the construction of the railroad from

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. He also built the highway from Caracas to

El Junquito El Junquito is one of the 22 parishes located in the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality and one of 32 of Caracas, Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, con ...

. In 1887 he accompanied the Venezuelan chemist Vicente Marcano on a scientific expedition to the upper

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

river, sent by President

Antonio Guzmán Blanco Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco (28 February 1829 – 28 July 1899) was a Venezuelan military leader, statesman, diplomat and politician. He was the president of Venezuela for , from 1870 until 1877, from 1879 until 1884, and from 1886 until 1 ...

. The trip provided geographical positions and a collection of plants and

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

objects found today in the US and Germany. He was in charge of the geographical and botanical part, which began the work of measuring and triangulation of the mountain ranges and sites and cities between Valencia and Caracas. He also carried out the topographic survey of the Lake Valencia basin and several scientific expeditions to the western region of Venezuela.1 Jahn combined his work as a

with his work in botany, as both required scientific work through extensive exploration. He completed measurements and triangulations of the

Venezuelan Coastal Range The Venezuelan Coastal Range ( or ), also known as Venezuelan Caribbean Mountain System (), is a mountain range system and one of the eight natural regions of Venezuela, that runs along the central and eastern portions of Venezuela's northern coa ...

and various sites and cities between Valencia and Caracas. He also carried out a topographic survey of the Lake Valencia

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

. He lived with the

Indians of the West of Venezuela and wrote books on their customs and dialects. As a

he classified many plants in Venezuela, donated botanical samples to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, and wrote a book on the Palms of Venezuela (''the Palms of the Flora Venezuelana'' – Caracas 1908). He was a founding member of the Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences, and served as its president in 1935 and 1937. academiasnacionales.gov.ve
Alfredo Jahn
He received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

, and the Medal of the

Berlin Geographical Society Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He received the

. The Alfredo Jahn Cave in Miranda is named for him; it is the sixth largest in the country.

Legacy

The following species of plants are named after him: * ''

Annona jahnii ''Annona jahnii'' is a species of plant in the family Annonaceae. It is native to the Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. William Edwin Safford, the American botanist who first formally described the species, named it after the Venezuelan scientist, ...

'' Saff.

Bibliography

Jahn wrote 41 works between scientific books and pamphlets, and 52 articles for newspapers and magazines, including: *''La altitud de Caracas''. Caracas: Tipografía Americana, 1919. *''Aspectos físicos de Venezuela''. Caracas: Editorial Cecilio Acosta, 1941. *''Contribución a la hidrografía del

y Río Negro''.

: Tipografía Universal, 1904. *''La cordillera venezolana de los Andes''.

: Revista Técnica del Ministerio de Obras Públicas, 1912. *''Los aborígenes del occidente de Venezuela: su historia, etnografía y afinidades lingüísticas.''

Monte Ávila Editores Monte Ávila Editores is the largest and most important publishing house in Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and ...

, 1973. *''Los cráneos deformados de los aborígenes de los valles de Aragua: observaciones antropológicas.''

: Lit. del Comercio, 1932. *''Una importante contribución a la hidrografía de la Guayana venezolana.''

: Litografía y Tipografía Mercantil, 1931.

References

External links

Alfredo Jahn – VenciclopediaTribute to Papa Jahn
– maintained by his great grandson

---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Jahn, Alfredo 1867 births 1940 deaths Venezuelan civil engineers 19th-century Venezuelan botanists Venezuelan people of German descent Engineers from Caracas Scientists from Caracas 20th-century Venezuelan engineers 20th-century Venezuelan botanists 19th-century Venezuelan engineers