Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (17 November 1753 – 23 May 1815) was an American clergyman and

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 ...

Biography

The son of Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, he was born in Trappe,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He was educated at Franckesche Stiftungen in Halle starting in 1763 and in 1769 at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

. He returned to Pennsylvania in September 1770 and was ordained as a Lutheran minister. He served first in Pennsylvania and then as a pastor in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He received a Doctor of Divinity degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. He married Mary Catherine Hall in 1774, with whom he would go on to have eight children. Despite his family beginning to take root in Philadelphia, Muhlenberg found he had no choice but to flee Philadelphia upon the outbreak of Revolutionary War hostilities in the region. Returning to his hometown of Trappe, he took up the study of botany. He served as the pastor of

Holy Trinity Church Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

from 1780 through 1815. In 1785, he was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. In 1787, he was also made the first president of Franklin College. In 1779 he retired and devoted himself to the study of

botany 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 ...

. He is best known as a botanist. ''

Muhlenbergia ''Muhlenbergia'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. The genus is named in honor of the German-American amateur botanist Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753-1815). Many of the species are known by the common name muhly. The greatest ...

'', a well-known genus of

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es, was named in his honor. His chief works are ''Catalogus Plantarum Americae Septentrionalis'' (1813) and ''Descriptio Uberior Graminum et Plantarum Calamariarum Americae Septentrionalis Indiginarum et Cicurum'' (1817). Muhlenberg discovered and identified the

bog turtle The bog turtle (''Glyptemys muhlenbergii'') is a critically endangered species of semiaquatic turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the eastern United States. It was first scientifically described in 1801 after an 18th-century ...

while conducting a survey of plants in

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; ), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States ...

. In 1801 the turtle was named ''Clemmys muhlenbergii'' in his honor,Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Muhlenberg", pp. 184-185). (with a

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

of Muhlenberg's tortoise). However, the species' common name was changed to

in 1956, as the practice of naming an organism's common name after individuals became less popular. In 1815, he suffered a paralytic stroke which hindered his activities. Helped by his daughter, however, Muhlenberg continued his correspondences until the sudden recess of his paralysis. Despite his condition seemingly reversing itself, a final series of strokes took his life not long after. Muhlenberg is buried in

Woodward Hill Cemetery Woodward Hill Cemetery is a 32-acre historic rural or garden cemetery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The cemetery's creation was initiated by the Trinity Lutheran Church of Lancaster in October 1849. Land was subsequently purchased by the church, ...

Family

Muhlenberg was the brother of

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

and

Peter Muhlenberg John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (October 1, 1746October 1, 1807) was an American clergyman and military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. A member of Pennsylvania's prominent Muhlenberg family political dynasty, he became ...

, father of Henry A. P. Muhlenberg and Frederick Augustus Hall Muhlenberg, a physician, who was the father of Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, the first president of

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German pat ...

Notes

References

* This work in turn cites: ** John M. Maisch, ''G. H. E. Muhlenberg als Botaniker'' (1886)
Solomon Erb Ochsenford. ''Muhlenberg College: A quarter-centennial memorial'' (1792) p. 172-173.
;Attribution *

External links

* *Th

which contains scientific letters written to Muhlenberg, are available for research use at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historic research facility headquartered on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chron ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhlenberg, Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst 1753 births 1815 deaths People from Trappe, Pennsylvania 19th-century American Lutheran clergy Franklin & Marshall College American botanists American science writers People from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania American people of German descent Muhlenberg family Princeton University alumni University of Halle alumni Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Members of the American Philosophical Society 18th-century American Lutheran clergy