Belsazar Hacquet
Encyclopedia
Le Conquet
Le Conquet is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Geography:Le Conquet is a fishing port in the northwest of Brittany...
, France. He studied in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and was a surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. Later he was an instructor of anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
and natural sciences in Laibach (now Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
), and in 1788 was a professor at the University of Lemberg. After 1810 he lived in Vienna.
Hacquet is remembered for his scientific journeys throughout the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
. He was a polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
, and performed research in the fields of geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
, botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
, petrology
Petrology
Petrology is the branch of geology that studies rocks, and the conditions in which rocks form....
and karstology. He is recognized as the first scientist to perform extensive exploration of the Julian Alps
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav. They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains...
. In 1777 he was the first to try to ascend to the top of Triglav
Triglav
Triglav is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. While its name, meaning "three-headed", can describe its shape as seen from the Bohinj area, the mountain was most probably named after the Slavic god Triglav. The mountain is the preeminent symbol of the Slovene...
(2864 m), the highest peak in Slovenia, and reached Mali Triglav (2725 m).
Among his written works is the four-volume Oryctographia Carniolica
Oryctographia Carniolica
Oryctographia Carniolica is a four-volume work by Belsazar Hacquet, published in Leipzig in 1778. It discusses the physical properties of the Duchy of Carniola, Istria and parts of the neighbouring lands. It also includes an in-depth description of the Idrija mercury mine...
, which included a geological and mineralogical study of Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
, Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
, and surrounding districts. This work also included an in-depth report of the Idrija mercury mine. He also wrote an ethnographical study of Southern Slavic peoples in a treatise called Slavus Venedus Illyricus.
As a botanist Hacquet wrote a book on alpine flora
Alpine flora
Alpine flora may refer to* Alpine tundra, a community of plants that live at high altitude* The alpine plants that live within that community...
from Carniola called Plantae alpinae Carniolicae. The botanical genus Hacquetia epipactis
Hacquetia epipactis
Hacquetia epipactis is an ornamental plant of the Apiaceae family, which is native of Europe. It grows only to about 5–10 cm in height and is easy to cultivate in Plant Hardiness Zones 5 to 7 according to the United States Department of Agriculture...
is named after him, as well as the plant species Pedicularis hacquetii (Hacquet's lousewort
Lousewort
Pedicularis is a genus of perennial green root parasite plants belonging to the broomrape family Orobanchaceae. Between 350 and 600 species are accepted by different authorities, mostly from the wetter northern temperate zones, as well as from South America...
). On one of his excursions, he discovered "on the evening, Trenta side of Triglav, a new species of scabious" and picked it for his herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
collection, nowadays preserved in the Natural History Museum of Slovenia. He called the species Scabiosa trenta in the published description, and drew it. Many botanists have sought the mysterious pale yellow scabious, among them also the young Julius Kugy
Julius Kugy
Julius Kugy was an Austrian - Italian mountaineer and writer of Slovene origin. He wrote mostly in German. He is renowned for his travelogues from the Julian Alps, in which he reflected on the relationship between man, nature, and culture...
. He searched for the secretive flower, and though he was not able to find it, this led him to became a great explorer and describer of the Julian Alps. The Austrian botanist, A. Kerner, later proved Belsazar Hacquet had not found a new species, but a specimen of the already known submediterranean Cephalaria leucantha.