Johannes Christopher Hagemann Reinhardt (23 December 1778 – 31 October 1845), sometimes called J. C. H. Reinhardt, was a professor in
zoology at the
University of Copenhagen.
Born in
Rendalen parish in
Norway, his father, Johannes Henrik Reinhardt, was a priest, and his mother, Johanne Elisabeth Mommesen, was from
Holmestrand (Norway). He was not baptized Johannes, but adopted the name later. After having been educated at home, he came to
Copenhagen in 1792 and entered the
university in 1793, where he passed the first two examinations, but after that spent almost two years at home, where he used the opportunity to study
plants and
animals. In 1796, he returned to
Copenhagen to study
theology, but his tendencies pulled him away from this study and towards
natural history. He became a disciple of
Martin Vahl, with whose help Reinhardt in 1801 got the opportunity to travel abroad, where he stayed until 1806 (in the beginning a mentor for a son of the titular councillor of state J.C.C. Brun). At first, Reinhardt studied mineralogy at the academy of mining in
Freiberg, later primarily
zoology and
anatomy in
Göttingen and finally in
Paris. During his stay there he received an appointment as an inspector for that part of the newly established
Royal Museum for Natural History which was founded by acquiring the collections of the
Society for Natural History in 1805. He was just about to start as a private tutor in a German family in
Normandy, but accepted happily the post as inspector instead, although the annual salary was only 200
Rdl., because he now felt it possible to return home without having to choose between "death from hunger or practising law". He remained in Paris for a few months more and tried to extend his rather insufficient knowledge by studying in the museums and by following
Georges Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...
's lectures, that had excited his enthusiasm. In late 1806 he returned and immediately took over the management of the collection. In 1809 he started giving lectures in the museum, and when professor J. Rathke had been transferred to
Christiania, Reinhardt was also employed by the university in 1813, at first as a senior lecturer and the year after as a professor extraordinarius in
natural history. In 1814, he married Mette Margrethe Nicoline Hammeleff (1782–1832), a daughter of titular councillor of state N. Hammeleff and Juliane Marie Hammeleff, born Pontoppidan. In 1821, he became a member of the
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, in 1830 ordinary professor and a member of the Academic Council; in 1836 he was appointed honourable Doctor of Philosophy, and in 1839 he became titular councillor of state.
He was the father of
herpetologist Johannes Theodor Reinhardt (1816-1882), who with
Christian Frederik Lütken
Christian Frederik Lütken (; 7 October 1827, in Sorø – 6 February 1901), was a Denmark, Danish zoologist and naturalist.
In 1852, he resigned his commission as a lieutenant with the Danish army, and earned his master's degree in sciences the ...
(1827-1901), published ''Bidrag til Kundskab om Brasiliens Padder og Krybdyr'' (Contributions to the knowledge of Brazilian amphibians and reptiles.
Journal of Herpetology
by: The Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
Reinhardt died on 31 October 1845 in Copenhagen.
Taxon described by him
*See :Taxa named by Johan Reinhardt
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinhardt, Johan Christopher Hagemann
1776 births
People from Rendalen
1845 deaths
Danish zoologists
Scientists from Copenhagen