Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister (also known as Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister) (15 January 1807 – 2 May 1892) was a German Argentine

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

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 ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

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 coleopterologist. He served as a professor at the University of Halle, headed the museum there and published the ''Handbuch der Entomologie'' (1832–1855) before moving to Argentina where he worked until his death.

Career

Burmeister was born in

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

, where his father was a customs officer. He studied medicine at

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

(1825–1827) and Halle (1827–1829), and in 1830 went to

Berlin 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 ...

to qualify himself to be a teacher of natural history. His dissertation was titled ''De insectorum systemate naturali'' and graduated as a doctor of medicine on November 4, 1829 and then received a doctor of philosophy on December 19 in the same year. He then joined for military service in Berlin and Grünberg (Silesia). He was soon after appointed an instructor in the gymnasium at

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. He later became a professor of zoology at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg serving there from 1837 to 1861. During this period he published several major works on insects which also involved the examination of insect collections around Europe and those of wealthy collectors. He married Marie Elise, the daughter of shipowner and insect collector M.C. Sommer of Altona, in 1836. In 1848, during the revolutionary excitement, he was sent by the city of Halle as deputy to the

national assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, and subsequently by the town of

Leibnitz Leibnitz (; ) is a city in the Austrian States of Austria, state of Styria and on 1 Jan. 2023 had a population of 13,014. It is located to the south of the city of Graz, between the Mur (river), Mur and Sulm (Austria), Sulm rivers. The town is ...

to the first Prussian chamber. Around 1848 he became a socialist and still later opposed slavery. He traveled to Brazil from 1850 to 1852, partly supported through the efforts of

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

was cut short by a leg injury. He then visited

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

from 1857 to 1860, returning to Germany with zoological collections. He was elected 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 1856. In 1861, he divorced his wife and went to live in Argentina, founding the Institute at the Museo Nacional in Buenos Aires. He married an Argentine woman and they had two sons, Carlos and Federico. Carlos also became a scientist. Burmeister headed the Academy of Sciences, formed from the scientific faculty of Argentina's National University of Córdoba. He took an interest in paleontology and was keenly interested in protecting fossils in the pampas region and helped the passage of a law. In the field of

herpetology Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

he described many new

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

and reptiles. He also mistakenly described a bovid

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

as belonging to '' Macrauchenia patachonica''. Burmeister was said to be harsh and did not have any close circle of friends. While working at the Argentine museum, he had a fall from a ladder and landed on a glass case and injured himself seriously on 8 February 1892. He resigned from work on 18 April and died on 2 May. A state funeral was held on the 4 May and the president of Argentina, Carlos Pellegrini was present. A monument was placed on the bank of the Rio de La Plata in the ''Parque 3 Febrero'' on October 7, 1900 and later moved to the '' Parque Centenario''.

Evolution

Burmeister was a critic of

Darwinism ''Darwinism'' is a term used to describe a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others. The theory states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural sel ...

, he rejected

common descent Common descent is a concept in evolutionary biology applicable when one species is the ancestor of two or more species later in time. According to modern evolutionary biology, all living beings could be descendants of a unique ancestor commonl ...

.Levine, Alex; Novoa, Adriana. (2012). ''Darwinistas!: The Construction of Evolutionary Thought in Nineteenth Century Argentina''. Brill. pp. 100-102. However, he changed his views slightly on common descent in the late 1870s. In 1879 he commented that:

I am wholly convinced that the beings found in the older formations of our globe are the prototypes of contemporary beings, and in this respect, I declare myself a partisan of the hypothesis recently developed in detail, and as a natural law, by Darwin and his followers. But I must confess that their experiments have not provided me with any proof that any fundamental change in type is possible.

Florentino Ameghino described Burmeister as a "Biblical creationist", although this remains unconfirmed.

Bibliography

*182
''De insectorum systemate naturali''
40 pp. Grunert, Halle. 829.??*183
''Handbuch der Entomologie''
Vol. 1, xvi+ 696 + pp. Reimer, Berlin. fter 1832.10.31* 835Bericht über die Fortschritte der Entomologie 1834–35. ''Arch. Naturgesch''. 1(2): 7-74. *1837 ''Handbuch der Naturgeschichte''. art 2xii + pp. 369–858. Enslin, Berlin. 837.??*1851 u. 1853''Geologische Bilder zur Geschichte der Erde und ihrer Bewohner'', 2 Volumes.- Verlag von Otto Wigand, Leipzig, 312+326pp *O. Taschenberg "Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister" Leopoldina, 29: 43-46; 62-64; 78-82; 94–97. Halle (1893) *C. Berg "Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister. Bio (with a portrait)" Anales Museum of Natural History in Buenos Aires, 4: 315–357. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1895) * C. Berg "Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister. Bio" Anales de la Sociedad Argentina Science, 41: 97-107. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1896) * Anonymous "Germán Burmeister, 25 † anniversary of his death" Physis, 3 (14): 305–306. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1917) *B. Houssay "The personality of German Burmeister" Physis, 19 (53): 279–283. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1942) * WITNESS Mendilaharzu "Burmeister unpublished" Deutsche Lehrerzeitung für Argentinien: 22–25. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1942) *C. Withaus "Germán Bumeister. Memorias del Museo de Entre Rios." Parana Province of Entre Rios, Argentina (1942) *G. Araoz Alfaro "A wise German in the service of Argentina, German Burmeister" Argentine-German cultural institutions, pp. 1–15. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1943) *R. Ardissone "Homage to Burmeister. Burmeister contribution to geography" Bulletin EAG, (35): 9-10. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1957) *A. Burkart "Burmeister as botanical" Revista de la Universidad Nacional de la Plata, 4: 89–95. La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina (1958) *M. Buraben "Germán Burmeister, his life, his work" Cultural issues Argentinas, pp. 1–95. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1968) * K. Müller "Hermann Burmeister" Die Natur, 36 (NF, 13): 136–138. Halle (1887) *M. Asua "Official support for the Physics Description de la République Argentine H. Burmeister" Quipu, 6 (3): 339–353. México (1989) * NT Auza "Germán Burmeister and Paleontological Society 1866-1868" Investigations and Trials, 46: 137–155. National History Academy. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1997)

Other works

''Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte der Rankenfüsser (Cirripedia)''''El Campo del Cielo (Territorio del Chaco) : extracto de un informe presentado /por el naturalista viajero Carlos Burmeister''''Beschreibung einiger neuen oder weniger bekannten Schmarotzerkrebse : nebst allgemeinen Betrachtungen über die Gruppe, welcher sie angehören''''Die Labyrinthodonten aus dem bunten Sandstein von Bernburg : zoologisch geschildert''''Die Organisation der Trilobiten aus ihren lebenden Verwandten entwickelt : nebst einer systematischen Uebersicht aller zeither beschriebenen Arten''''The organization of trilobites, deduced from their living affinities : with a systematic review of the species hitherto''
(with Thomas Bell and Edward Forbes)
''Systematische Uebersicht der Thiere Brasiliens : welche während einer Reise durch die Provinzen von Rio de Janeiro und Minas geraës gesammlt oder beobachtet Wurden''
(Vols. 1-3)
''Beiträge zur näheren Kenntniss der Gattung Tarsius''''Lehrbuch der Naturgeschichte''''Revision del género Ecpantheria''''Description physique de la République Argentine d'après des observations personelles et étrangères''
(with Emile Daireaux, and E. Maupas) (Vols. 1-5)
''Genera quædam insectorum. Iconibus illustravit et descripsit Hermannus Burmeister ...''''Grundiss der Naturgeschichte : Für Gymnasien und höhere Bürgerschulen''''A Manual of entomology, / tr. from the German of Dr. Herman Burmeister by W. E. Shuckard, with additions by the author, and original notes and plates by the translator''

Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by Hermann Burmeister

References

External links

Jens Andermannn-Relics and Selves
*
Gaedike, R.; Groll, E. K. & Taeger, A. 2012: Bibliography of the entomological literature from the beginning until 1863 : online database - version 1.0 - Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burmeister, Hermann 1807 births 1892 deaths Argentine zoologists German taxonomists German entomologists German mammalogists German ornithologists German emigrants to Argentina Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the Prussian House of Lords People from the Province of Pomerania People from Stralsund Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences 19th-century German zoologists International members of the American Philosophical Society