Christian von Steven (; 19 January 1781 – 30 April 1863) was a Finnish-born

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Life

Steven was of Swiss descent. At the age of 57 he married a young widow, Marie Karlovna Gartzewitsch (née Hagendorff), with whom he had five children: *Anton (b. 12 December 1835) - a Lieutenant in the Russian Navy, present at the

Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) The siege of Sevastopol (at the time called in English the siege of Sebastopol) lasted from October 1854 until September 1855, during the Crimean War. The allies ( French, Sardinian, Ottoman, and British) landed at Eupatoria on 14 September ...

*Julia (24 August 1837 – 1855) *Natalia (27 August 1839 – 1862) - married Lieutenant Colonel Hippenreiter *Alexander (1844–1910) *Katharina (b. 16 August 1841)

Career

He studied at the

Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country still was a part of Sweden. It was founded in 1640. In 1809, after Finland became a ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and at

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Weimar () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant branch of the House of W ...

, before studying

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

Saint Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

. The senior Russian

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...

(silk farming) inspector

Friedrich August Marschall von Bieberstein Baron Friedrich August Marschall von Bieberstein (30 July 1768 – 28 June 1826) was an early explorer of the flora and archeology of the southern portion of Imperial Russia, including the Caucasus and Novorossiya. He compiled the first comprehen ...

employed Steven as his assistant in 1800. He inspected sericulture in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, progressing to deputy senior inspector of sericulture in 1806. In 1812, he participated in the creation of the

Nikitsky Botanical Garden Nikita Botanical Garden (, ,) is one of the oldest botanical gardens in Europe. It is located in Crimea, close to Yalta, by the shores of the Black Sea. It was founded in 1812 and named after the settlement Nikita in Crimea, Russian Empire. Its ...

Nikita Nikita may refer to: * Nikita (given name), people with the given name, including variants * Nikita, Crimea, a town in Ukraine * Nikita the Tanner, a character in East Slavic folklore Film and television *''Little Nikita'', a 1988 film * ''La Femm ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, which he directed until 1827. After von Bieberstein's death in 1826 Steven was appointed senior inspector of sericulture in southern Russia, and

Nicolai Anders von Hartwiss Nicolai Anhorn von Hartwiss (Николай Андерс фон, ''де'' Гартвис, ''Николай Андреевич''; was a Livonian-born, Baltic German, Russian botanist, plant explorer and plant breeder. His education at the universi ...

became director of the Botanical Garden, with Steven remaining as supervisor. He retired in 1850. In 1815, he was elected a corresponding member of the

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

. In his later life Steven studied the flora of Crimea, where he settled, but he had also collected numerous specimens from the Lower Volga area at the start of his career.

Expeditions

In the spring 1800 von Bieberstein and Steven departed from

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where they stayed for several weeks with Christian Friedrich Stephan the director of the Moscow Apothecary garden and professor of chemistry and botany at the Medical-Surgical Academy. They made their way to

Kizlyar Kizlyar (; ; , ''Qızlar'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the river delta, delta of the Terek River northwest of Makhachkala, the cap ...

, collecting in

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

Sarepta Sarepta (near modern Sarafand, Lebanon) was a Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast between Sidon and Tyre, also known biblically as Zarephath. It became a bishopric, which faded, and remains a double (Latin and Maronite) Catholic titula ...

, and between the Volga and the Don Rivers. In 1806 Steven visited the Lower Volga again, including Sarepta,

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

, Norka and the area between the Volga and Medveditsa Rivers. In 1807 Steven moved to Simferopol, Crimea, but returned to Sarepta and

Kamyshin Kamyshin ( rus, Камышин, p=kɐˈmɨʂɨn) is a city in Volgograd Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volgograd Reservoir of the Volga River, in the estuary of the Kamyshinka River. Its population was Past populations for Kam ...

in 1811, and Astrakhan in 1816.

New taxa from the Lower Volga

On these excursions he collected material which was described by other botanists. ''Allium sabulosum'' was described by

Alexander von Bunge Alexander Georg von Bunge (; – ) was a Russian botanist. He is best remembered for scientific expeditions into Asia and especially Siberia. Early life and education Bunge was born under the name Alexander Andreevič von Bunge on in Kyiv as ...

, whereas ''

Adonis volgensis ''Adonis volgensis'' is a perennial plant with a yellow flower. It is found from southeastern Hungary through Romania eastward to the southern part of the Western Siberian Plain and Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting ...

'' and ''Delphinium cuneatum'' were described by

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss people, Swiss botany, botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple ...

in 1818.

Collaborations

He was an active member of the Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow. The botanist Robert Lyall said "one of the first naturalists of the age sMr Christian Steven who after having travelled in the Caucasus Georgia and the Crimea has been appointed director of the botanic garden at Nikita on the southern coast where he spends several months in the year". He met

Carl Reinhold Sahlberg Carl Reinhold Sahlberg (January 22, 1779, Eura – October 18, 1860, Yläne) was a Finland, Finnish natural history, naturalist, primarily an Entomology, entomologist specializing in beetles. He was the father of entomologist Reinhold Ferdinand S ...

when Sahlberg travelled to St. Petersburg in 1813 to collect specimens for

Åbo Akademi Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while the metropolitan area ...

's Botanical Museum and Gardens. Steven's letters written in 1828–1863 to professor

Alexander von Nordmann Alexander von Nordmann (24 May 1803 in Ruotsinsalmi, Vyborg Governorate – 25 June 1866 in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland) was a Finnish biologist, who contributed to zoology, parasitology, botany and paleontology.Leikola A (2001Nordmann, ...

are maintained in the archives of Finnish national library. Some letters are also at the central archive of Simferopol and at Geneva library in Switzerland.

Awards

In 1849, to celebrate 50 years of service, he was elected Honourable Member of all Russian Universities and Academies of Sciences *Order of Saint Anna, Second Class *Order of St. Vladimir, Third Class (Russia)

Works

* ''Monographia

Pedicularis ''Pedicularis'' is a genus of Perennial plant, perennial green Parasitic plant, root parasite plants currently placed in the family Orobanchaceae (the genus previously having been placed in Scrophulariaceae ''sensu lato''). Uses Pedicularis ...

'', 1822. * ''Verzeichnis der auf der taurischen Halbinsel wildwachsenden Pflanzen'', 1856–1857. *''A review of the success of sericulture, horticulture and wine-making in the midday provinces of Russia (1834-1835)''. Magazine of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 1835. T. XV. N 2. P. 301. *''A review of the success of sericulture, horticulture and wine-making in the midday provinces of Russia (1835-1836)''. Magazine of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 1836. T. XX. N 4. P. 46. *''A review of the success of sericulture, horticulture and wine-making in the midday provinces of Russia (1836-1837), Magazine of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 1837. T. XXIII. Part 3. P. 469-471

Legacy

He collected an important

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

of more than 23,000 species which he donated in 1860 to the

Botanical Museum The Harvard University Herbaria and Botanical Museum are institutions located on the grounds of Harvard University at 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Botanical Museum is one of three which comprise the Harvard Museum of Natural ...

of the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

. Other specimens are kept at herbaria LE, MW, and KW. Steven named the genus '' Callipeltis''Steven, Christian von. 1829. Nouv. Mém. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 1: 275. and some 30 species, including: *'' Allium guttatum'' *'' Colchicum laetum'' *'' Corispermum pallasii'' *''

Crambe cordifolia ''Crambe cordifolia'', the greater sea-kale, colewort or heartleaf crambe ( syn. ''Crambe glabrata'' DC.), is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Caucasus. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award ...

'' *'' Orchis punctulata'' *''

Quercus hartwissiana ''Quercus hartwissiana'', the Strandzha oak (), is a species of oak, native plant, native to southeastern Bulgaria, northern Asia Minor along the Black Sea, and the Caucasus. It was described by the Finnish-born Russian botanist and entomologist ...

'' *'' Tilia dasystyla''

References

* Translation of the article in French Wikipedia

External links

(1865)
Christian Steven, der Nestor der Botaniker
', in Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Mosc, B. XXXVIII, 1–2, p. 100 sq. {{DEFAULTSORT:Steven, Christian Von Lepidopterists from the Russian Empire 19th-century botanists from the Russian Empire 1781 births 1863 deaths Saint Petersburg State University alumni S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Biologists from the Russian Empire Finnish biologists People from the Russian Empire of Swiss descent Finnish people from the Russian Empire Finnish people of Swiss descent Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class People from Hamina