Johann Hieronymus Kniphof (24 February 1704 in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

– 23 January 1763) was a German physician 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 ...

He studied medicine at the Universities of

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 ...

and

, becoming a professor of medicine at the latter institution in 1737. In 1745 he succeeded Andreas Elias Büchner (1701–1769) as director of the

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

at Erfurt, two years later being named dean to the faculty of medicine. In 1761 he was chosen as university rector.Erfurt-Web-de.
Johann Hieronymus Kniphof, bedeutender Botaniker, Mediziner und Universitätsrektor aus Erfurt At Erfurt, he assembled a large and impressive

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 ...

, about which in 1733, he first published a work with the title of "Botanica in originali" (later releases known as "Botanica in Originali, seu Herbarium Vivum"). Considered to be Kniphof's magnum opus, it would eventually be published in several editions. It was renowned for employing a preparation/printing technique known as "

nature printing Nature printing is a printing process, developed in the 18th century, that uses the plants, animals, rocks and other natural subjects to produce an image. The subject undergoes several stages to give a direct impression onto materials such as lead ...

", which at the time was a little understood process that Kniphof had mastered in order to imprint details of various botanical specimens. The botanical genus ''

Kniphofia ''Kniphofia'' (, ) is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. All species of ''Kniphofia'' are native to Africa. Common names include tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily and poker pla ...

'' (family

Asphodelaceae Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 4 ...

) was named in his honor by botanist

Conrad Moench Conrad Moench (sometimes written Konrad Mönch; 15 August 1744 – 6 January 1805) was a German botanist, professor of botany at Marburg University from 1786 until his death. He wrote ''Methodus Plantas horti botanici et agri Marburgensis''; in ...

(1745–1805).

References

Medical reference. Hieronymus JH. De luxationibus et subluxationibus. Thesis. Jena, Dec 21, 1746. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kniphof, Johann Hieronymus 1704 births 1763 deaths Academic staff of the University of Erfurt Scientists from Erfurt 18th-century German botanists 18th-century German physicians

See also

References