Kaspar Maria Von Sternberg
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Count Kaspar Maria von Sternberg (also: ''Caspar Maria'', ''Count Sternberg'', , ; 6 January 1761 – 20 December 1838) was a
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
n
aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...
,
theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
,
mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...
, geognost,
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 ...
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 is known as the "Father of Paleobotany".


Early life and ancestry

Born into one of the most prominent Bohemian noble families, he was the youngest child of Count Johann Nepomuk I von Sternberg (1713-1798) and his wife, Countess Maria Anna Josefa Kolowrat-Krakowsky (1726-1790). He had two elder sisters: Countess Josefa Anna (1748-1787), Countess Maria Leopoldina (1749-1749), and two brothers: Count Johann Nepomuk II (1752-1789), a
Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
killed at Mühlbach,
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
and Count Joachim (1755-1808).


Biography

He established the Bohemian National Museum in Prague, where his collection of minerals, fossils and plant specimens formed the core collection,Česká pošta
Philately, Kaspar Maria von Sternberg (1761 - 1838)
and he is deemed to be the founder of modern
paleobotany Paleobotany or palaeobotany, also known as paleophytology, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant fossils from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments ( pal ...
. As of 1820, he was on friendly terms with
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
. Originally a student of
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
, he attended the Collegium anglicum in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, from where he obtained a lower ordination. In his youth, he aspired to be a soldier, but soon, under the pressure of his parents and brothers, he decided to pursue an ecclesiastical career. At the age of 11,
Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV (; ; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in September 1774. At the time of his elec ...
obtained for him the position of
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
in
Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Isar river in ...
and later also in
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
. Inspired by the newly founded Regensburg Botanical Society (1790), he became an avid
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
, subsequently becoming a prominent member of the society, making contributions to its ''Botanisches Taschenbuch'' and also establishing a
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
in
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
. In 1805, during an extended stay in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, he met with
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 ...
and came under the influence of a number of French
paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
s and botanists. Afterwards, he relocated to an estate in Radnice,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
. Here, he created a botanical garden, and conducted important paleobotanical research at recently opened
coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
s located in the surrounding areas. The botanical genus '' Sternbergia'' is named in his honor.


Publications

* ''Abhandlung über die Pflanzenkunde in Böhmen'' (two volumes 1817–1818) - Treatise on the botany of Bohemia. * ''Briefwechsel (1820-1832)'' - Correspondence with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
''Versuch einer geognostisch-botanischen Darstellung der Flora der Vorwelt''
(with August Karl Joseph Corda, 1820–1825; two volumes) - Attempt at a geognostic-botanical description of primordial flora.Online Books
Versuch einer geognostisch-botanischen darstellung der flora der vorwelt


1902 - Selected works of Count Kaspar von Sternberg.

2010 - The life of Count Kaspar von Sternberg. The standard botanical author abbreviation Sternb. is applied to
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), ...
he described.


References


External links


The Sternberg Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sternberg, Kaspar Maria Von 1761 births 1838 deaths Bryologists Pteridologists Botanists with author abbreviations Paleobotanists German entomologists Czech paleontologists Scientists from Prague Kaspar Maria von Habsburg Bohemian nobility